New Delh - The Burmese military junta on Monday signed a new charter of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) but observers and critics were skeptical about the regime living up to the document's ideals of democracy and human rights.
Burma's foreign minister Nyan Win, during an annual meeting of foreign ministers of ASEAN on Monday, presented his country's ratification as the seventh nation to have ratified the groupings new charter, which include a human rights body.
David Scott Mathieson, Burma consultant of the Human Rights Watch said, Burma's signing the charter is 'technically' significant but cannot be 'congratulated' until it lives up to the document's human rights standard.
"Signing [of the charter] is a tiny bit… though it's a significant step that they [the junta] signed the mechanism, but that does not call for congratulation, they actually have to abide by the principles," Mathieson said.
Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of ASEAN during the signing ceremony thanked the Burmese foreign minister saying, "I believe the ASEAN Charter will help us build an ASEAN Community that we can all be proud of."
We have generated tremendous excitement around the world and they are expecting so much out of ASEAN and they believe with the completion of the ratification of the Charter, we will really be a new ASEAN worthy of full respect, cooperation and interaction, Surin added.
But Mathieson said by accepting Burma as a member, ASEAN has reduced its credibility and ASEAN as an association must hold Burma's military rulers accountable.
"Burma being a member of ASEAN in the past has weakened ASEAN," Mathieson said.
Debbie Stothard, coordinator of Alternative ASEAN network on Burma, a group lobbying for human rights and democracy in Burma, said the Burmese junta's late response to the recent Cyclone Nargis has violated most of the principle and spirits of the ASEAN charter.
"So when they ratify the charter it's an insult to ASEAN and it's degrading the charter," Stothard said.
Signing the charter easily, Stothard said, proves that the Burmese junta has not given any thought to the Charter itself and has no intention to abide by the ideals of the document.
In order to make the Burmese junta accountable, Stothard said ASEAN must "pressurise now, especially at this time, they [ASEAN] must increase its pressure on the SPDC."
Both Stothard and Mathieson, said they see the Burmese junta's signing of the ASEAN charter as another diplomatic move that the junta has made to ease pressure on them.
"It is very clear that the SPDC [junta] uses international diplomacy as a tool of manipulation, and they have broken promises frequently in the past," Mathieson said.
Stothard said, Burma's military regime had signed several agreements without seriously thinking about what they are doing and have never actually thought of abiding by the principles they have committed to.
"But this one should not be the same in technical terms," Mathieson said, "ASEAN as an association has to make sure that they are accountable, if they don't, then the mechanism itself is weakened."
