ASEAN Flexes Muscles To Free All Myanmar Political Prisoners

The Myanmar court has commuted by half the penalty for Aung San Suu Kyi, the Myanmar democratic icon and former leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD). The verdict on August 11, 2009 sentenced Aung San Suu Kyi to three years in prison on the charge of violating the internal security law. The court has recently commuted it to one-and-a-half year, or 18 months, and changed the detention method from imprisonment to house arrest. For John Yettaw, an American who swam to Suu Kyi's residence, the court handed him a seven-year imprisonment for three charges. The court gave him three-year imprisonment for violating internal security law, another three years for illegal entry into Myanmar, and another one year for swimming in a place where swimming is prohibited. What have happened is a challenge for The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that is a group of countries in Southeast Asia. It tested ASEAN whether it has enough potential to convince Myanmar to restore solidarity among its people.

ASEAN Views on Court's Ruling
It is pleasing that two days after the court sentenced Suu Kyi and a 58-year-old American who swam across a lake to see Suu Kyi, on the late morning of the 12th of August, Thailand on the capacity of ASEAN chairman has issued a statement expressing disappointment over the Myanmar court's verdict. The statement also cites the demand of ASEAN foreign ministers that attended the 42nd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) and the 16th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in July 2009 in Phuket province that the Myanmar Government should immediately release all political prisoners, including Suu Kyi, so that those people could take part in the 2010 general elections.

The determined stance of Thailand under the leadership of the Aphisit Wetchachiwa government was a consequence of the fact that the foreign ministries of several countries in ASEAN and in Europe and the United States have expressed dissatisfaction about the unfairly tough penalties handed down to Suu Kyi and the American man by the Myanmar court and military junta. For this reason, the Aphisit government should consult leaders of other ASEAN countries on further actions that the organization should take to pressure the Myanmar military junta to abide by the ASEAN statement, by immediately releasing Suu Kyi and other political prisoners. Then, those people would be able to run in the 2010 general elections.

Throughout the past several years, Myanmar has been a country ruled by an absolute military dictatorship that limits people's rights and liberty. Politicians who were on the opposite side of those in power, and people who disagreed with the government have been killed, arrested and detained and tortured with several methods, particularly Suu Kyi has been held under house arrest.

Sanction Against Myanmar
Although the United States and European countries have imposed economic sanction against Myanmar to pressure the Myanmar junta to release and free Suu Kyi and restore democracy in Myanmar, the sanction has not influenced the Myanmar military junta to adjust its authoritarian policy implementation.

There have been crackdowns against those dissenting the Myanmar junta. The foreign media have been barred from covering the situation in Myanmar. One reason is that certain powerful countries in Asia have supported Myanmar. Another reason is that ASEAN, in which Myanmar is a member, dares not to do anything for fear that Myanmar would be dissatisfied if ASEAN meddled with its internal politics.

Action Against Myanmar Military Junta
It is time now to take serious action against the Myanmar military junta. ASEAN has 10 member countries that are Thailand, Vietnam, Lao, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei, and Myanmar.

Although nine other countries (except Myanmar) has never handed the Myanmar junta an ultimatum, but from the fact that Thailand on the capacity of ASEAN chairman has issued the official statement based on its goodwill toward Myanmar people and the wish to see peace in Myanmar and to see the progress in national development that is a cooperation between member countries of ASEAN -- that would become ASEAN Union in the next six years, this should be the time for the beginning of a push to make the Myanmar military junta return freedom to Aung San Suu Kyi and let her prove herself in a free and fare general election next year. If such a push could be done, Thailand and ASEAN would win praise from the international community.