Sunday, 1 March 2009

Cambodian, Lao, Myanmar rights activists barred from ASEAN summit

MCOT - English News By Thai News Agency

PHETCHABURI, Feb 28 (TNA) -- Civil society representatives from Cambodia, the Lao PDR and Myanmar were on Saturday barred from attending talks with their government leaders, the same day that foreign ministers from the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) approved their first draft on establishing an ASEAN human rights body.

A 30-minute meeting between civil society representatives with their governmental leaders is part of the scheduled activities of the 14th ASEAN summit being held in Thai seaside resort of Cha-am.

The decision was made after representatives from Myanmar and Cambodia were ordered not to attend the meeting when Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen refused to join the meeting with civil society representatives, saying that they represented agencies which are not recognised by their governments.

Soontari Sengking, a representative of Thailand’s civil society, told journalists that there were “attempts by some government leaders in appointing their representatives to attend the talks.”

“Eventually, such talks did not take place,” Mrs. Soontari said. “We believe that it is still far from reality that representatives from civil society could confer with their government leaders.”

She said that Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, host of the ASEAN summit, and Thai Foreign Affairs Minister Kasit Piromya later met with civil society representatives from Myanmar and Cambodia.

After meeting them, Mr. Abhisit admitted that several issues, especially those which are difficult and sensitive, are difficult to solve because of ASEAN’s core policy of non-interference in the domestic affairs of each member country, according to Mrs. Soontari.

Mr. Abhisit has said that ASEAN human rights body would be established before the end of 2009. (TNA)

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