Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam have written to Liechtenstein, which drafted the resolution, after a vote scheduled last week was postponed to the last minute.
In the letter dated May 19 and viewed by Reuters, Southeast Asian countries say the project “cannot garner the broadest possible support in its current form, especially from all directly affected countries in the region “and that further negotiations are needed” to make the text acceptable, in particular to the countries most directly affected and which are currently engaged in efforts to resolve the situation.
Adoption by consensus
“We are also firmly convinced that if a General Assembly resolution on the situation in Burma is to be useful to ASEAN countries, it must be adopted by consensus,” the countries wrote, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian nations.
The letter is from all ASEAN countries except Burma.
The draft resolution calls for “an immediate suspension of the direct and indirect supply, sale or transfer of all arms and ammunition” to Burma. Southeast Asian countries want this wording deleted.
General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding but have political weight. Unlike the Security Council, which is made up of 15 members, no country has a veto power in the General Assembly.
No condemnation
Burma has been in crisis since the military toppled the elected government of leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1 and detained her and officials from her party, the National League for Democracy.
The countries of Southeast Asia want the UN draft resolution to express their deep concern about their detention, but instead of condemning it, the text would call for their immediate and unconditional release.
Earlier this month, more than 200 civil society groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, urged the United Nations Security Council to impose an arms embargo on Burma. Only the UN Security Council can impose legally binding sanctions or an arms embargo, but diplomats have said Russia and China could likely use their veto power to prevent such action against Burma.
Every week, receive Gavroche Hebdo. Register by clicking here
–
