Hanoi, July 20 (DPA) The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Tuesday urged Myanmar to make sure its upcoming elections were free and fair for the stability and development of Myanmar.
The 43rd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting opened Monday in Hanoi and dealt with cooperation on a range of issues, including economic recovery, sustainable development and climate change as well as measures to promote peace in the region.
Ministers discussed broadening and deepening the organisation’s external relations with its partners, including China, the US, South Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand, Russia and the United Nations.
Myanmar’s upcoming election and the issue of human rights violations featured strongly at the meetings.
‘Ministers stressed the importance of national reconciliation in Myanmar and a free and fair election with the participation of all parties in order to contribute to the stability and development of Myanmar,’ the meeting’s spokesman Tran Ngoc An said.
Ministers also said Myanmar needed to cooperate further with ASEAN as well as the UN, An said.
ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan told reporters on the sidelines of Tuesday’s meetings that the Myanmar delegates had ‘got an earful’ at a working dinner the previous evening.
He said the ministers also offered to send observers to the elections which Myanmar’s military regime has scheduled for this year but the date of which has not yet been set.
The recent situation on the Korean peninsula, including North Korea’s alleged sinking of a South Korean warship, was also discussed at the meeting.
Ministers expressed concern over the increased tensions and extended their condolences to the people and the government of South Korea. They called on both parties to exercise restraint, to build trust and to resolve any conflicts in the region peacefully.
Ministers said they supported a Korean peninsula without nuclear weapons and encouraged the parties to resume talks as soon as possible, An said.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Myanmar, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
