Flags of the 10 Asean countries.By GRANT PECK
CHA-AM, Thailand (AP) — Southeast Asian nations inaugurated a human rights commission Friday which was immediately blasted by representatives of civil society organizations who walked out of a meeting to protest being cold-shouldered by five regional regimes.
The annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations earlier began inauspiciously when half the bloc's 10 leaders failed to show up at the opening of the three-day conference due to a tropical storm, domestic politics, a VIP visit and a possible illness.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is hosting an official visit by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Indonesia is swearing in a new government and Malaysia's government was presenting its budget to Parliament, said Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya.
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was running late due to Typhoon Lupit, the third storm in a month due to hit the Philippines, her spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo said.
Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah was in Cha-am but didn't show up at the opening ceremony amid reports that he was not feeling well.
One of the first orders of business was the inauguration of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights which critics say will do little to deter human rights violators like ASEAN member Myanmar because it imposes no punishments and focuses on promotion rather than protection of human rights.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva called the move "a significant milestone in the evolution of ASEAN." It is the first human rights watchdog in the bloc's 42-year history.
"The issue of human rights is not about condemnation but about awareness," he said.
But he acknowledged the shortcomings of the commission, calling it an "evolutionary process toward strengthening the human rights architecture in the region."
A shadow was immediately cast over the body when the governments of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore and the Philippines rejected members of civil society groups from their respective countries they had been scheduled to meet, said Debbie Stothard of The ASEAN People's Forum, an umbrella group of non-governmental organizations.
The governments said they would not take part in the dialogue if the five activists were present, she said. Instead, Singapore and Myanmar flew in substitutes from government-sponsored agencies, with Myanmar including a former high-ranking police officer, Stothard said.
When the meeting took place without the original civil society representatives, those from Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia walked out in protest.
"It is a big shame to our dreams for genuine democracy in the region. It's like all of the human rights of the people in this region have been violated," said Sister Crescenia L. Lucero, a leading human rights advocate and Roman Catholic nun who was to have represented the Philippines at the dialogue.
"It does not bode well for the human rights commission. ASEAN has lost credibility," Stothard said.
Members of ASEAN have recently escalated their criticism of Myanmar, particularly over the detention of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. But the summit will again likely act by consensus, avoid confrontations and maintain that the group's approach to engaging Myanmar works better than the West's sanctions and threats.
The summit will also sign a declaration on climate change and discuss food security, bio-energy, disaster management and how trade barriers can be brought down to bring about a European Union-style grouping by 2015.
The bloc will also meet with leaders of China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.
Thailand has deployed more than 36,000 military and police both in Bangkok and to guard the summit at the beach resort of Cha-am, 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of the capital, said government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn. Authorities are also empowered to impose curfews.
The government is still smarting from the storming of the East Asian Summit in April in the coastal city of Pattaya, where anti-government protesters charged through thin police ranks and forced the evacuation of several leaders by helicopter and boat.
A main protest organizer said no new demonstrations are planned this week in Bangkok or at the summit venue.
Thailand has been rocked by years of protests and counterprotests by supporters and opponents of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup on accusations of corruption, abuse of power and disrespect to the country's monarch, all of which he denies.
The annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations earlier began inauspiciously when half the bloc's 10 leaders failed to show up at the opening of the three-day conference due to a tropical storm, domestic politics, a VIP visit and a possible illness.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is hosting an official visit by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Indonesia is swearing in a new government and Malaysia's government was presenting its budget to Parliament, said Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya.
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was running late due to Typhoon Lupit, the third storm in a month due to hit the Philippines, her spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo said.
Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah was in Cha-am but didn't show up at the opening ceremony amid reports that he was not feeling well.
One of the first orders of business was the inauguration of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights which critics say will do little to deter human rights violators like ASEAN member Myanmar because it imposes no punishments and focuses on promotion rather than protection of human rights.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva called the move "a significant milestone in the evolution of ASEAN." It is the first human rights watchdog in the bloc's 42-year history.
"The issue of human rights is not about condemnation but about awareness," he said.
But he acknowledged the shortcomings of the commission, calling it an "evolutionary process toward strengthening the human rights architecture in the region."
A shadow was immediately cast over the body when the governments of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore and the Philippines rejected members of civil society groups from their respective countries they had been scheduled to meet, said Debbie Stothard of The ASEAN People's Forum, an umbrella group of non-governmental organizations.
The governments said they would not take part in the dialogue if the five activists were present, she said. Instead, Singapore and Myanmar flew in substitutes from government-sponsored agencies, with Myanmar including a former high-ranking police officer, Stothard said.
When the meeting took place without the original civil society representatives, those from Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia walked out in protest.
"It is a big shame to our dreams for genuine democracy in the region. It's like all of the human rights of the people in this region have been violated," said Sister Crescenia L. Lucero, a leading human rights advocate and Roman Catholic nun who was to have represented the Philippines at the dialogue.
"It does not bode well for the human rights commission. ASEAN has lost credibility," Stothard said.
Members of ASEAN have recently escalated their criticism of Myanmar, particularly over the detention of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. But the summit will again likely act by consensus, avoid confrontations and maintain that the group's approach to engaging Myanmar works better than the West's sanctions and threats.
The summit will also sign a declaration on climate change and discuss food security, bio-energy, disaster management and how trade barriers can be brought down to bring about a European Union-style grouping by 2015.
The bloc will also meet with leaders of China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.
Thailand has deployed more than 36,000 military and police both in Bangkok and to guard the summit at the beach resort of Cha-am, 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of the capital, said government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn. Authorities are also empowered to impose curfews.
The government is still smarting from the storming of the East Asian Summit in April in the coastal city of Pattaya, where anti-government protesters charged through thin police ranks and forced the evacuation of several leaders by helicopter and boat.
A main protest organizer said no new demonstrations are planned this week in Bangkok or at the summit venue.
Thailand has been rocked by years of protests and counterprotests by supporters and opponents of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup on accusations of corruption, abuse of power and disrespect to the country's monarch, all of which he denies.
No comments:
Post a Comment