ASEAN Summit Off To A Controversial Start

(RTTNews) - The three-day annual summit of the Association of South-East Asian Nations got off to a controversial start Friday when the launching of the ASEAN Inter-governmental Human Rights Commission (AICHR) was marred by half of the representatives of civil society groups being denied chance for an audience with the ASEAN leaders.

The governments of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines and Singapore all rejected the delegates chosen by the ASEAN Civil Society to meet with the leaders of the member-states, now a regular event at ASEAN summits to demonstrate the group's new 'people orientation.'

The rejected delegates included Cambodia's Nay Vanda, Laos' Manichanh Philaphanh, Myanmar's Khin Ohmar, the Philippines' Crescencia Lucerno, a Franciscan nun, and Singapore's Sinapan Sanaydorai, a labor activist.

The governments said they would not take part in the dialogue if the five activists were present. Instead, Singapore and Myanmar flew in substitutes from government-sponsored agencies, with the latter sending two former police chiefs to represent civil society.

When the interactive meeting began without the original civil society representatives, those from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand walked out, leaving the process a mere 'government affair.'

Debbie Stothard of the ASEAN People's Forum, an umbrella group of non-governmental organizations, said "ASEAN has lost credibility." She described the incident as 'disturbing.'

The summit, being held at the Thai beach resort of Cha-am, south of the capital Bangkok, was due to sign declarations on food security, regional connectivity, disaster management and cultural exchanges.

Both the cities are under tight security. Originally scheduled to hold in April, the half-yearly summit was twice postponed due to political unrest and inconvenience of some Asian leaders to attend it.

Still, half the bloc's 10 leaders failed to show up at the opening of the conference Friday.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who presided over the inauguration ceremony, called the launching of the Human Rights Commission 'a significant milestone in the evolution of ASEAN," while critics say it is incapable of punishing human rights violators because it focuses on promotion rather than protection of human rights.

He called for a more dynamic, action-based ASEAN as it moves toward its goal of achieving an integrated ASEAN Community similar to the EU by 2015

An inter-governmental body having consultative nature, the basic purpose of the AICHR is to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of the peoples of ASEAN. It is also meant for developing strategies for upholding the right of the peoples of ASEAN to live in peace, dignity and prosperity.

The AICHR charter calls for enhancing regional cooperation with a view to complementing national and international efforts on the promotion and protection of human rights.

A clause in the charter, non-interference in the internal affairs of ASEAN Member States, makes it claw-less in dealing with obvious and serious human rights violations going on in a region notorious for human rights abuses, especially countries like Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

At the same time, it empowers the regional body to consult, as may be appropriate, with other national, regional and international institutions.

The AICHR shall convene two regular meetings per year.

An annual report on its activities will be submitted to the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting.

ASEAN has been widely criticized in the past for failing to pressure the Myanmar military regime to free Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and more than 2,000 other political prisoners.

With a focus on the process to integrate the ASEAN community, education and human resource development will be given top priority at the 15th ASEAN Summit.

The bloc will also meet with regional dialogue partners - China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.