Indonesia's foreign minister to visit Myanmar to assess democracy

Oct 14, 2011, 7:54 GMT

Jakarta - Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said Friday he would visit Myanmar at the end of the month to assess the country's reform efforts.

Myanmar is seeking to be the chair of the 10-member Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2014, but a decision on the proposal has been deferred pending an assessment of its progress towards democratization.

'In line with the mandate given to me by ASEAN, I will visit Myanmar at the end of this month to assess developments in Myanmar,' Natalegawa said

'It looks like there have been positive developments in Myanmar,' he said. 'There's a momentum for democratization and it is in our interest to maintain the momentum.'

Indonesia is the current chair of ASEAN.

Laos has offered to allow Myanmar to take its scheduled place as ASEAN chair in 2014, since the country missed the opportunity in 2005, due to widespread condemnation of the regime's poor human rights record and refusal to implement political reforms.

Western countries have imposed economic sanctions on Myanmar since 1988 when an army crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators killed an estimated 3,000 people.

Last year, Myanmar held its first elections in 20 years, bringing in a government led by former generals, and released opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi after years of house arrest.

The government said this week it had released 6,359 prisoners on humanitarian grounds.

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