Southeast Asian foreign ministers meeting in Vientiane from today have been urged to use this opportunity to state their stance on Burma taking the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) from July next year.

In separate public statements, Malaysian opposition politician Lim Kit Siang and activist group Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF) urged Asean not to allow Burma to take up the post, which is rotated among the 10 member-states.

"The meeting should not botch the opportunity to send a clear and unmistakable message to the Myanmar (Burma) military junta that its full Asean membership will be contingent on meaningful and acceptable democratic reform and national reconciliation in Burma," said Lim.

"(The Asean Summit to be held in Malaysia in November) will be haunted by the Myanmar question if the issue...is not resolved or handled satisfactorily at the meeting in Vientiane."

Currently, Asean has left it to Burma's military government to decide whether or not to assume the post. Western nations, such as the US and UK have questioned Asean for allowing Burma to chair the grouping and have indicated that they will boycott meetings held in that country.

France-based RSF secretary-general Robert Menard urged Asean secretary-general Ong Keng Yong in an open letter to "use his influence" with member-states at the ongoing four-day meeting to prevent Burma from assuming the post.

"(We) would like to draw your attention to recent reports about the drastic curbs on free expression in Myanmar. On the eve of the meeting, our organisation would like to remind you that the Burmese junta is still holding six journalists in wretched prison cells," Menard said in the letter dated July 22.

"(This) includes leading prisoner of conscience U Win Tin, 75, who recently began his 17th year in prison. For daring to express his peaceful opposition to the government, he has been denied many basic rights during his years in detention, including the right to a fair trial and to reasonable prison conditions."

Information restriction

RSF further accused the Burmese government of "shamelessly abusing" its judicial system to undermine the rights of nationals to access news and information.

"On July 3, for example, the authorities arrested five people for listening to Voice of America and BBC World Service radio programmes. Myanmar is also one of the few countries in the world where the press is still subject to prior censorship.

"At least 12 pro-democracy activists have been arrested during the past two weeks (and) the July 12 arrest of cartoonist Chit Swe, who is also vice-president of the Thanlyin branch of the National League for Democracy (NLD), is a serious violation of free expression."

The NLD, which pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi leads, won a majority vote in Burma's last general election in 1990. However, it was not allowed to form government by the military, which often crushes pro-democracy demonstrations and anti-government protests.

Human rights organisations have for years slammed Burma's detention of over 1,000 political prisoners and imprisoning democracy activists. Among them are Suu Kyi, who has spent the last two years under house arrest.

Both Lim and Menard urged Asean to send a clear message to Burma that so long as it does not show meaningful and democratic reforms - such as the release of Suu Kyi and other prisoners - the Asean chair will elude its grasp.

"The most recent mass release of political prisoners, more than 300 in all, must not be allowed to obscure the reality of repression against government opponents. A Burmese presidency cannot be reasonably envisaged if you hope to maintain your organisation's credibility and legitimacy
within the international community," Menard said.

"We therefore believe it falls to the Asean foreign ministers to firmly and openly state their position on the Burmese junta's repressive policies and drastic curbs on freedom."

The 10 member-states are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.