Asean plans early warning system to defuse conflicts

CHA-AM, Thailand – Southeast Asian nations were set to endorse an early warning system to defuse conflicts that could derail their goal of becoming a European Union-like community by 2015, according to a confidential document obtained yesterday by AP.

The blueprint for peace in the highly diverse region where conflicts still erupt is to be adopted today at the climax of the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN.

“More efforts are needed in strengthening the existing modes of pacific settlement of disputes to avoid or settle future disputes,” says the final draft of the ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint.

It outlines a long “wish list,” ranging from fighting piracy, terrorism and cyber crime to promoting democracy and good governance.

“It is envisaged that the (blueprint) will bring ASEAN’s political and security cooperation to a higher plane,” it says.

But officials of the 10-member bloc stress that numerous stumbling blocks remain on the road to true economic, political and security integration.

ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said there remain “a lot of challenges along the way, we won’t be able to complete the journey soon.”

“The European Union has been and remains our inspiration, not our model. Not yet anyway,” he said.

Surin said that for the foreseeable future economic integration was largely about dropping trade barriers and that a common currency was probably “a long, long way off.”

ASEAN, which encompasses a region of more than 500 million people, includes among its members two communist regimes, two constitutional monarchies, a military dictatorship and fledgling democracies.

While Southeast Asia has not seen major conflicts since the Vietnam War era, tensions and confrontations persist. Thailand and Cambodia narrowly avoided a shootout last year in an ongoing dispute over an ancient temple along their common border, and territorial claims remain unresolved in the resource-rich South China Sea.

Bloody Muslim insurgencies plague southern Thailand and the southern Philippines.

Not spelling out details, the blueprint calls for an early warning system “based on existing mechanisms to prevent occurrence/escalation of conflicts.”

It also outlines intensified cooperation among the bloc’s military forces, including presence of observers at national military exercises, exchange of visits among military training institutions and other measures “to promote trust and mutual understanding.”

‘Toothless rights’ body

In another effort to move the region forward, ASEAN is finalizing a new human rights body to promote fundamental freedoms, although it will lack the power to punish violators such as military-ruled Myanmar.

The document containing the mandate, makeup and scope of the ASEAN human rights body, is packed with provisions rejecting external interference and stressing the region’s cultural diversity.

The draft adopts ASEAN’s underlying principle of non-interference in domestic affairs, which has previously been used by member states such as Myanmar to fend off criticism about alleged human rights abuses.

It urges the “respect for the right of every member state to lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion and coercion” and the recognition that “primary responsibility to promote and protect human rights... rests within member states.”

The body must also pursue a “constructive and non-confrontational approach” in its mission to promote and protect human rights, an apparent rejection of calls by international watchdogs for the 10-nation grouping to take a more aggressive stand against abuse within member states.

While mandated to develop a “long-term strategy” on human rights and promote public awareness, the body lacks the power to probe and prosecute violators, according to the draft, which is being debated at the annual ASEAN Summit in the Thai resort town of Hua Hin.

“I understand it is indeed toothless,” said Debbie Stothard, coordinator of the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma, a non-government organization. Burma is military-ruled Myanmar’s former name.

The draft does not specify who should sit on the rights body, other than representatives with “competence in the field of human rights.”

However, diplomats have said some countries want to appoint independent experts while others are pushing for the body to be made up of government officials.

A landmark ASEAN charter that went into effect last year provides for the establishment of a human rights body. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Friday discussions would continue through the weekend and include consultations with human rights groups.

“We have to find a balance. It has to have credibility but it also has to be implementable, given the diversity of our region,” Abhisit said of the proposed body. He said he wants details of the forum to be finalized by October.

Fresh row over human rights

Meanwhile, a fresh row among ASEAN leaders over human rights erupted yesterday after Myanmar’s junta and Cambodia blocked activists from attending rare face-to-face talks.

ASEAN leaders were due to hold talks with 10 civil society representatives yesterday, but Myanmar premier Thein Sein and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen refused to take part if activists from their own countries were present.

“We are really disappointed and regret such a decision taken by the two countries, because we are of the view that dialogue will help understanding between the two sides and forge cooperation to resolve issues together,” Yap Swee Seng, head of the Asia Forum for Human Rights and Development, said.

The barred activists were Khin Omar, a democracy campaigner and women’s rights activist from Myanmar, and Pen Somony, a volunteer coordinator from Cambodia.

“This shows that the Burmese junta has no commitment to the charter that it has ratified,” Khin Omar said, referring to Myanmar by its former name.

ASEAN has repeatedly been pressed to use its influence to improve the rights situation in Myanmar but to little avail.

A key problem has been the group’s underlying policy of non-interference in domestic affairs, which has previously been used by nations like Myanmar to fend off criticism. – AP