Asean blasted for rights 'apathy'

At a news conference one day ahead of the meeting of Asean ministers, Debbie Stothard, coordinator for the Alternative Asean network on Burma, blasted the regional grouping for using a hands-off policy to justify its failure to resolve human rights crises in Burma, where "massive outflows of refugees and migrant workers, and drug production are a threat to the region."

"Asean lost its soul a long time ago by refusing to acknowledge the reality that human rights are indivisible from economic development," said Stothard.

"In the case of Burma, Asean has failed to affect any change, any positive development.

"Since Burma was allowed into Asean two years ago, there's been actually a worsening of the situation," she added.

Burma's ruling government refused to step down after losing a landslide election nearly a decade ago. Leaders have been accused of massive human rights violations, including forced labour and relocation of thousands of people.

But Asean has stood by its core policy of non-interference in member countries' domestic affairs, arguing that Burma's human rights situation will improve if it is brought into the international community.

Open Singapore Centre's (OSC) Dr Chee Soon Juan blasted the island state for its lack of transparency and accountability , saying the island's people are being kept in the dark about their government's failed investment projects.

He blasted the Singapore government for investing in Burma in spite of condemnations from the international community about the military junta's treatment of its own people

J. B. Jeyaretnam, a Singapore opposition politician and also a member of the OSC, said he was disappointed that there was no initiative by the Singapore government to set up a a human rights commission like some other Asean countries.

"They say it's a policy of non-interference. But by their direct encouragement of the military regime, they are interfering in Burma's internal affairs," Jeyaretnam said at the news conference.

Jeyaretnam also criticised Singapore for investing heavily in Burma. "You are helping the military to keep people in subjugation. If that isn't interference, I don't know what is," Jeyaretnam said.

Others slammed Asean for ignoring an Indonesian military crackdown on pro-independence sympathisers in its strife-torn province of Aceh.

Ahmady, secretary of the Alliance of Independent Journalists Indonesia, said the crisis in trouble-plagued Aceh had not eased despite the end of Suharto's three-decade rule.

"There are still rapes, disappearances, killings, and other forms of violations and intimidation inflicted by the military. So far, 150,000 people have fled their homes from the military," said Ahmady, who like many Indonesians, uses only one name.

In Malaysia, 800,000 newly-registered voters would most likely be unable to vote in the country's upcoming election because of an eight-month delay in processing their registrations, said Alison Wee, spokeswoman for human rights group Suaram Malaysia.

The government said the delay was due to "compute work," Wee said.

But, the election commission will be able to conduct the election on short notice of 12 days or nine days, she added.

Other activists blamed Asean member countries for stifling press freedom, clamping down on dissidents and using the death penalty.

Wilson Lucente, from Amnesty International Philippines, spoke out against the death penalty in that country, saying capital punishment does not deter heinous crimes and that the judicial system there has been prone to errors when imposing the death penalty.