Discord at the 'Family Dinner'
Myanmar's refusal to allow Gambari briefing dampened leaders'
spirits
By Ravi Velloor & Cheong Suk-Wai
MOODY MONDAY: The mood was tense on Monday as regional leaders,
including (facing, from left) Malaysian PM Abdullah Badawi,
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo, Asean Secretary-General Ong
Keng Yong and Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong, had a dinner discussion
over Myanmar's refusal to allow Prof Gambari's briefing. --
AFP
IT WAS meant to be a family gathering amid a lush setting, with
consomme, seabass, roast veal, ice cream and some plain speaking on
the menu.
As it turned out, Monday's informal dinner among the 10 Asean heads
of government at the Shangri-La Waterfall Terrace became the most
dissected event - the morning after.
What prompted the leaders to make a surprise announcement late on
Monday night that they had aborted a briefing by UN Special Envoy
Ibrahim Gambari on the Myanmar situation?
Ahead of the meeting, Singapore's Foreign Affairs Minister George
Yeo had billed it as a 'family dinner where each member is invited
to speak his mind'.
Whatever was spoken, the effect was this, said a diplomat who was
present: 'Myanmar looked Asean hard in the eye and the rest of us
blinked.'
Host Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong opened the discussion by
telling his nine fellow leaders that it would make sense for the
grouping to ride on the UN Secretary-General's effort to tell the
world that there indeed had been movement inside Myanmar.
After all, no less than Myanmar's icon of democracy, Ms Aung San
Suu Kyi, had endorsed the Gambari efforts for a national
reconciliation. Besides, he said, it would be a message to the
world that Asean was trying to be on top of the situation in its
backyard.
After all, Asean had issued a strong statement on Sept 27 in New
York.
'It cannot be business as usual. That was why Singapore thought it
would be a good idea for Gambari to brief the East Asia Summit.
That was Mr Lee's point,' said a person who listened to the
speech.
Diplomats familiar with the developments said that there were some
murmurs when Singapore initially mooted the proposal. But as no one
objected to the idea, Singapore went ahead and invited Professor
Gambari to address the summit.
However, even as the UN envoy was winging his way to Singapore from
New York, the winds shifted.
Another diplomat said that as late as last Wednesday, Myanmar had
said explicitly that it had no objections to the Gambari
briefing.
But around the weekend, Myanmar sent word that the briefing was not
a good idea, but did not reject it.
By then, said a summit participant, the Chinese had also voiced
objections to the Gambari briefing for the EAS. But their concerns
centred on whether the briefing would be in a formal setting, hence
lending the EAS more weight over the Myanmar situation than China
felt necessary.
Singapore, acting as the Asean chair, reassured China that the
setting would be informal. The Chinese then relented.
Even as early as Monday morning, Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win
told his fellow Asean foreign ministers that it was acceptable for
Prof Gambari to brief the Asean grouping, but not the EAS. The
Asean leaders accepted this position, according to a source,
especially after initial rumblings that some did not like the idea
of the briefing going beyond the group's 10 members.
But by the time Myanmar's Prime Minister Thein Sein arrived in
Singapore, there was a volte face. No Gambari briefing, he
said.
'It was obvious he was here on a short leash,' said a
diplomat.
'The real issue was never Gambari. The real issue is what role you
want Asean to play,' he added.
At Monday's dinner discussion, which some observers described as
'heated', Mr Thein Sein simply would not budge.
There was no need for Prof Gambari to brief the East Asia Summit or
the Asean leaders, he said firmly. Every Asean nation is a UN
member and if they wanted Prof Gambari's report, they could ask
their envoys to the United Nations in New York to get a report from
him.
His message came down to this, said a person who listened to Mr
Thein Sein's speech: 'I look after my own house. You cannot come in
and rearrange the furniture. The furniture may not be great but I
do it the way I want it. Period.'
Faced with his intransigence, other senior summit members
spoke up. Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia
suggested that this no longer could be considered a domestic
matter.
One diplomat reported what was said by one leader: 'The rest of the
world thinks that this is a matter that concerns Asean also and
have begun to hit at us.'
Mr Thein Sein remained immovable. It is a matter between Myanmar
and Prof Gambari, he said, and between Prof Gambari and his UN
bosses.
Asean? The grouping has no role in it.
The entreaties were in vain. Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia wilted and
made the point that 'one of our members is
objecting'.
That was the end of the consensus.
That triggered the three-hour brainstorm among the leaders to come
up with a Chairman's Statement to explain why they had to call off
the Gambari briefing.
Just as family quarrels will inevitably have its eavesdroppers, the
night's drama was heightened when a microphone was accidentally
switched on and it fed back into the media room snippets of the
leaders' angst-filled exchange on how to word the statement.
When Mr Lee finally appeared before the media, flanked by the
others, the message had been crystallised to this: Myanmar was 'on
its own' in its dealings with the UN and the international
community.
Less than eight hours later, the man without an audience to brief
landed here and immediately declared himself 'very disappointed'
with Myanmar's stance.
But Asean's loss, as it turned out, proved to be individual
members' gain, as several of them sought to meet Prof Gambari
separately, including at cocktails just before last night's gala
dinner. Some even hugged him.
He met Philippine President Gloria Arroyo briefly and is scheduled
to meet other leaders today.
One delegate described Myanmar's decision as one 'they will
regret'.
But on Monday night, Mr Thein Sein did not look like he had lost
his appetite He ended his meal with ice cream ensemble and fruit,
after he was done with his plain speaking.
http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_178756.html
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Disgusted. Totally disgusted.
