Even Some Allies Decry Case Against Nobel Laureate

By Tim Johnston (www.washingtonpost.com)

BANGKOK, May 25 — The decision by Burma’s government to put Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader and Nobel Peace laureate, on trial has chilled relations with some of the ruling military junta’s traditional allies and made it less like likely that international sanctions against the nation will be eased, according to U.S., European and Asian officials.

The issue has dominated the two-day Asia-Europe Meeting, which is being held in Hanoi this week. Benita-Maria Ferrero-Waldner, the European Union’s External Affairs Commissioner, said she would press for the release of Suu Kyi and the 2,100 other political prisoners held in the country when she meets with Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win.

A little more than four weeks ago, the E.U. reviewed its sanctions, which target the members of the junta, their families and businessmen who profit from their rule, and left them unchanged for another year. But officials said there had been a major argument behind the scenes between nations such as Germany and Italy, which wanted to relax sanctions, and others that wanted them unchanged or strengthened.

The court case against Suu Kyi has strengthened the pro-sanctions lobby. Suu Kyi was charged with breaching the terms of her house arrest after a Missouri man, John Yettaw, swam across a lake behind her home and entered her house uninvited.

“It’s not the moment to lower sanctions; it’s the moment in any case to increase them,” Javier Solana, the head of foreign policy for the E.U., said last week.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who in February called for a review of the sanctions imposed on Burma, called Suu Kyi’s trial “outrageous.”

The Burmese government has shown before that it is little concerned with the outrage of Western nations whether accompanied by sanctions or not, but it is unused to vocal criticism from within the region.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, pioneered what it calls “constructive engagement” with Burma, also known as Myanmar, when it was admitted in 1999, but officials from the regional group said they are starting to lose patience.

Thailand, which holds the rotating chair of ASEAN, issued a statement last week that, although bland by international standards, was a strong condemnation in regional terms.

“Thailand, as the ASEAN chair, expresses grave concern about recent developments relating to Aung San Suu Kyi, given her fragile health,” the statement said. “The Government of the Union of Myanmar, as a responsible member of ASEAN, has the responsibility to protect and promote human rights.”

That provoked a strong response from authorities in Burma.

“This statement issued by the alternate ASEAN chairman — which is not in conformity with ASEAN practice, incorrect in facts, interfering in the internal affairs of Myanmar — is strongly rejected by Myanmar,” said a government statement quoted in the official New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

One of the reasons Burmese authorities have been able to ignore the sanctions is that China, the country’s biggest trading partner, has refused to become involved.

“Myanmar’s issue should be decided by the people of Myanmar,” Ma Zhaoxu, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said last week. “As a neighbor of Myanmar, we hope that relevant parties in Myanmar can realize reconciliation, stability and development through dialogue.”