Why Fellow Southeast Asian Nations Can’t Censure Myanmar over Human Rights
Voice of America
TAIPEI - Southeast Asia’s powerful negotiating bloc has ignored pressure to chase Myanmar over violence and suspected human rights problems, ensuring that a negative spotlight does not turn on other members or threaten the group’s prized neutrality, analysts believe.
They say any public condemnation of Myanmar’s junta government, which took power in a February 1 coup, or the threat of action against it would expose at least five other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members to scrutiny over human rights issues as perceived by critics in the West. “If ASEAN violates and crosses the line by passing judgments on each other’s internal affairs, this would be slippery because most ASEAN governments have skeletons in the closet,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political science professor at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. Bloc members Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines have been accused of mishandling human rights and civil liberties over the years.FILE - A child kicks a football in front of a mural of the country's first Black president and leader of the ruling African National Congress Nelson Mandela, in Soweto, South Africa, as the country celebrates Freedom Day, on April 27, 2024. FILE - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, center, dances to music as he attends Freedom Day celebrations in Pretoria, South Africa, on April 27, 2024. FILE - Main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party leader John Steenhuisen waves to supporters in Pretoria, South Africa, on Feb. 17, 2024, at the party's manifesto launch ahead of the 2024 general elections. FILE - Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema at the party's manifesto launch in Durban, South Africa, on Feb. 10, 2024. FILE - Former South African president, Jacob Zuma, sings and dances after addressing his supporters of the UMkhonto WeSizwe, (MK) party outside the High court in Johannesburg, South Africa, on April 11, 2024.
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