AFTER years of procrastination, south-east Asian leaders finally bit the Myanmar bullet on Monday, telling the country’s military junta to release the detained opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and other political prisoners and “expedite” the restoration of democracy. But the timing owed as much to external pressure as political altruism, coming shortly after the US proposed taking Mynamar before the UN Security Council.

Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) also said it would send a ministerial delegation to Burma to assess the political and human rights situation. The junta, which recently extended Ms Suu Kyi’s house arrest for another six months and has repeatedly refused entry to UN envoys, reportedly agreed to the visit.

The demarche reflects Asean’s growing embarrassment over abuses in Burma, including systematic repression, targeting of ethnic minorities and official connivance in drug trafficking. A recent report by the former Czech president Vaclav Havel and the South African former archbishop Desmond Tutu demanded urgent multilateral action. Another inquiry this month claimed the use of torture was “state policy”.

“Asean has long been losing patience with Myanmar and this decision obviously demonstrates a very deep unease, especially coming from an organisation that traditionally doesn’t interfere in other countries’ internal affairs,” said Mark Farmaner of Burma Campaign UK. “By bringing Burma into Asean [in 1997], they hoped engagement would work. The policy failed. Myanmar has become a millstone round Asean’s neck. But the regime depends on the outside world for trade and investment. It is vulnerable to political and economic pressure.”

The junta unveiled a road map to democracy in 2003 but set no timetable. Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, reported last month that “basic goals have not been met [and] the national convention charged with drawing up a new constitution continues to exclude representatives of many political parties, including [Ms Suu Kyi’s] National League for Democracy”. Alexander Downer, Australia’s Foreign Minister, has likened the pace of reform to “glue flowing up a hill”.

But Asean ministers may have other reasons for taking a tougher stance as a new forum for Asian regional cooperation takes shape. Fearful of being overwhelmed by economic giants such as China, Japan and India at East Asia summit, Asean has decided to boost its standing by adopting a constitution dedicated to “democracy, human rights and obligations, transparency and good governance”.

The fate of its Myanmar’s initiative may nevertheless depend on the attitude of bigger players such as the US and China, which has large financial interests in Myanmar. John Bolton, US Ambassador at the UN, suggested this month that the junta posed a threat to international peace and security and its own people.

The unprecedented UN session on Myanmar, convened by the US under Britain’s presidency, is expected before Christmas. It could lead to a binding resolution on restoring democracy, Mr Farmaner said. “The US has made Myanmar a priority but it is not aggressively pursuing a resolution right away, which would have alienated China.”

A White House meeting in October between George Bush and Charm Tong, a Myanmar women’s rights activist, may have been crucial in stiffening American resolve. Ms Tong reportedly made an impression on the president, and he devoted much of his subsequent Asia tour to arguing the case for action on Myanmar.—Dawn/The Guardian News Service