[xtypo_dropcap]W[/xtypo_dropcap]ith uncharacteristic directness, diplomats at the opening dinner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) conference held in Vietnam this week, urged Burma’s military junta to hold free elections.
At its founding in 1967, the 10 ASEAN member countries signed a cooperation treaty with a policy of “noninterference in the internal affairs of one another.” On July 20, ASEAN foreign ministers devoted one paragraph of a joint statement to a call for free elections in Burma.
The elections will be held later this year, the exact date is still unknown.
In previous months, Burma’s National League for Democracy, led by incarcerated Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, disbanded after the junta issued a law barring any convicted offender from membership in a political party.
At its founding in 1967, the 10 ASEAN member countries signed a cooperation treaty with a policy of “noninterference in the internal affairs of one another.” On July 20, ASEAN foreign ministers devoted one paragraph of a joint statement to a call for free elections in Burma.
The elections will be held later this year, the exact date is still unknown.
In previous months, Burma’s National League for Democracy, led by incarcerated Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, disbanded after the junta issued a law barring any convicted offender from membership in a political party.
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