By DPA
Singapore : Developments in Myanmar will not stop the signing of the Asean charter at the annual summit next month, the bloc’s Secretary General Ong Keng Yong said Saturday.
“Earlier I thought it was possible, but not now,” Ong said on the sidelines of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) civil society conference.
The violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Myanmar last month triggered calls for action among the country’s neighbours, but Asean has ruled out economic sanctions or expelling Myanmar.
Myanmar’s military junta has continued to send representatives for deliberations on the charter, Ong said.
The “legal scrubbing of the charter is finished”, Ong told the conference.
“The charter formalises Asean and will enable Asean to assert itself,” he said, calling it the bloc’s constitution.
The charter includes an agreement to establish an Asean human rights body and a system of compulsory dispute settlement among its 10 members, including Myanmar.
Acknowledging Asean has come under criticism for its slow pace of action in the past, Ong said the organization could not move faster than members wanted.
Asean can only “evolve in a way comfortable to all of us”, he said.
The signing is expected to take place during the Asean leader’s summit in Singapore Nov 18-22.
Myanmar’s Senior General Than Shwe, leader of the military junta, is expected to attend. Earlier there were fears the signing could be delayed if Myanmar’s leaders did not attend.