Suu Kyi can contest future elections, Indonesia says

“Myanmar disclosed that once the convention is finished Aung San Suu Kyi can participate in future elections,” Hassan Wirajuda told reporters at the conclusion of the annual ministerial meeting of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

He said Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung, in a briefing to his ASEAN colleagues, did not give any time frame for when the convention would finish or elections held.

The handpicked delegates to the convention have been ordered not to criticise the regime and have been given a strict daily regimen and dress code. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy has boycotted the convention and critics call it a sham.

Myanmar had made some progress by issuing a “roadmap to democracy” and convening the convention in the year since ASEAN called on the junta to release Suu Kyi, Wirajuda said.

That move to censure Myanmar last year was a historic departure from the grouping’s principle of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs.

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The Joint Communique issued at the end of Wednesday’s meeting contained more muted criticism this time.

It “recalled and emphasized the continued relevance” of last year’s pointed criticism.

“In this regard, we underlined the need for the involvement of all strata of Myanmar to continue their efforts to effect a smooth transition to democracy.”

Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for the past 13 months. Her NLD party won 1990 elections by a landslide but the generals refused to hand over power to her.

Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai told reporters the ministers agreed there had been some progress. “But at the same time we feel the issue of Aung San Suu Kyi is an important one. The fact the NLD did not participate in the national convention, we think that’s a hiccup in the process, but it’s not the end.”

ASEAN will likely tout Myanmar’s disclosure about Suu Kyi’s participation in future elections as tangible progress when the grouping meets its Asia-Pacific partners in the ASEAN Regional Forum, the continent’s premier security and defence organisation.

The United States and the European Union, which have imposed sanctions on Myanmar, are expected to call for a stronger line from ASEAN at that meeting on Thursday.

Myanmar has emerged at the centre of a dispute between ASEAN and the European Union, which wants to admit its 10 new members to the Asia-Europe (ASEM) summit in Hanoi in October, but does not want Myanmar to participate.

Wirajuda downplayed the row.

“We cannot conclude that what has been expressed by the European Union on Myanmar in the context of the expansion of ASEM membership is a threat. It is normal in the diplomacy.

“We can be optimistic that the preparation of the summit will not be disturbed because of the Myanmar membership factor.

“Don’t forget the European Union is interested in expanding by 10 memberships, so they have also an interest to settle the membership problem.”

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