Myanmar PM to attend 15th ASEAN summit in Thailand

[CrazyExpat]

YANGON, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar Prime Minister General Thein Sein will attend the 15th Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and related meetings in Hua Hin, Thailand, an official announcement from Nay Pyi Taw said on Monday without specifying the date of his trip.

At the invitation of his Thai counterpart Abhisit Veijajiva, Thein Sein is to attend the summits scheduled for Oct. 23-25 in the southern Thai beach resort town.

Thailand stands the 2009 ASEAN chairmanship.

The last 14th ASEAN Summit in Hua Hin in February-March this year touched on the implementation of ASEAN Charter and regional and international issues, global financial crisis, disaster management, food and energy security, and regional and international situation.

At the summit, the ASEAN heads of government signed the Declaration on Roadmap for ASEAN Community. Other agreements were also inked which are -- ASEAN Petroleum Security Agreement, ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement, Protocol to Implement the 7th Package of Commitments under ASEAN Framework Agreement on Service, and three programs for mutual recognition of ASEAN Quality.

A follow-up ASEAN summits with China, Japan, South Korea, India, East Asia and the United Nations in Pattaya in April were forced to cancel due to thousands of red-shirt demonstrators of the anti-government United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) stormed in the summit venues.

Myanmar, which joined the ASEAN along with Laos in July 1997, ratified the ASEAN Charter in July last year.

For full article go to:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-10/19/content_12268719.htm

[Thaifan]

One side of me is appalled that we treat this cruel dictator the same as everyone else but another side hopes that other Asean members will lobby him to restore true democracy to Myanmar, not his pseudo-democracy which is holding elections in which his main opponent is excluded, because he knows she will win.

[lvdkeyes]

It will be interesting to see how it unfolds.

[Bob]

Not having the balls, good sense, or decency to condemn human rights violations within their own member countries, ASEAN is basically worthless in my view.

[Thaimo]

Not having the balls, good sense, or decency to condemn human rights violations within their own member countries, ASEAN is basically worthless in my view.

But what would you have them do? Would you have them censure him? Would you have them try to pass some sort of resolution condemning him and his government's practices? I'm not sure how I would handle it. I think trying to publicly embarrass or even threaten him would fail to change anything, other than making sure he would never again attend this kind of multi-national summit. I also think that doing and saying nothing and avoiding the subject wouldn't be much different from another Munich. I'm not even sure that ASEAN is the proper venue for trying to do anything.

When you have rogue countries such as Burma or North Korea or Iran, it's very difficult to deal with them unless they do something crazy, such as invading another country. UN sanctions are what's worthless in my view. Have these sanctions ever succeeded in doing anything other than resulting in the people suffering further than they were already suffering?

[Wino]

UN sanctions are what's worthless in my view. Have these sanctions ever succeeded in doing anything other than resulting in the people suffering further than they were already suffering?

In my view, sanctions don't work period. Look at the US-Cuban sanctions, not UN sanctions but still a joke.

[WannaGo]

When you have rogue countries such as Burma or North Korea or Iran, it's very difficult to deal with them unless they do something crazy, such as invading another country. UN sanctions are what's worthless in my view. Have these sanctions ever succeeded in doing anything other than resulting in the people suffering further than they were already suffering?

I think the only thing you can do is contain them and support the regime's political opposition or, in extreme cases, provide funding, training and assistance to rebel groups.

Cross-culturization seems the surest, although it takes the longest. When China's totalitarian government eventually falls, it will not be the result of a war, but of the introduction of Wal-Mart and hip-hop.