Rifts mar ASEAN solidarity at Summit
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It was meant to be a leaders' meet where solidarity is hailed and development envisioned, and one that ends up adopting declarations without much surprise.
But the 15th ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit held in Hua Hin, Thailand during the weekend saw rows among member nations that overshadowed the meeting's theme -- enhancing connectivity -- and raised questions on how solitary the bloc truly is.
At Friday's press briefing on the ASEAN meeting's outcome, questions about former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra stirred up, as local media put it, a "war of words" between Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Cambodian Premier Hun Sen.
Hun Sen told reporters of the Summit that Thaksin can stay in Cambodia as the guest of Cambodia and also be his guest as his advisor on the economy. He also likened Thaksin to Aung San Suu Kyi.
Thaksin was ousted by the military coup on Sept. 19, 2006, while he was attending the UN General Assembly since he was accused of corruption, and kept in exile since then.
Abhisit hit back at the briefing, urging Hun Sen to respect the dignity of ASEAN by focusing his attention on how to help the 10-member regional grouping reach its stated goals.
"As Prime Minister Hun Sen comes to the ASEAN meeting, he should help the meeting reach its goals," Abhisit said.
Abhisit urged his Cambodian counterpart to review whether his decision would benefit the national interests of the two countries or just one individual. "Don't allow anybody to use you as a pawn, " Abhisit told a press briefing, which was supposed to focus on the outcome of the ASEAN meeting.
The Philippines and Thailand are also engaged in a row over rice price. Last week, Thailand, the world's biggest rice exporter, threatened to delay an ASEAN free trade pact unless it could get a "fair deal" on tariffs from the Philippines.
Civil group row
While Abhisit mentioned in his opening speech Friday the responsibility of civil society to ensure the success of ASEAN's human rights body in carrying out tasks, one civil group was denied their voice at the Summit.
Five out of ten representatives selected by ASEAN People's Forum were rejected from attending a scheduled face-to-face talk with ASEAN leaders, an incident the representatives described as "a show of bad faith" on the part of ASEAN.
They were planning to raise to the leaders issues including discrimination against women, migration, impunity, and economic rights of women.
The representatives said they were "appalled" and staged a walkout.
Ho Yock Lin, one representative from Malaysia, said despite the incident, they would still be committed towards continued engagement and "demanded a reciprocal commitment shown in good faith by the ASEAN member states."
Poor attendance
An unprecedented four ASEAN leaders missed the opening ceremony of ASEAN Summit for one reason or another. They are Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Their absence forced the canceling of a traditional group photo session. The four countries were represented by senior officials at the ceremony.
