"We positively welcome the recent developments in Myanmar especially the release of a significant number of political prisoners," said Maria briefly.
In the earlier round of ASEAN rotating leadership Myanmar has to let its turn be taken by others because it was considered not ready yet for it. At the time Myanmar was still under the military junta that had arrested thousands of opposition figures including pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
ASEAN efforts to engage Myanmar and ask it to leave the style of government that ignores human rights have come to fruition in the past few years after various efforts by the west through sanctions.
Myanmar then made a peaceful road map towards democracy and in stages met the targets it had set by themselves from writing a new constitution to general elections rules, implementing the general elections and release a significant numbers of political prisoners.
Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa on the sidelines of an ASEAN ministerial meeting last November 15 said a few ASEAN member countries had expressed strong support for Myanmar`s bid to chair the regional organization in 2014.
Marty declined to name the countries but said some of the ASEAN foreign ministers had a positive sentiment about Myanmar`s bid.
"I have to say that there was a positive sentiment. We all without exception have seen positive developments happening in Myanmar in the past few months and I think developments have been taking place since July," he said.
In view of that Marty hoped Myanmar could maintain the good momentum. "I think Myanmar has seriously created conducive conditions to support its request (to become the chair of ASEAN in 2014)," he said.
Marty however said he could not confirm the ASEAN decision on it. He said that the decision would be made at the level of ASEAN heads of state not foreign ministers.
"The issue will also be discussed more formally by the ASEAN Board of Coordination that would meet tomorrow," he said.
Myanmar should have been the ASEAN chair in 2015 while Laos in 2014 but the Myanmarese government had negotiated with Laos to exchange its turn like what Indonesia and Brunei have done.
(T.A051/HAJM/B003)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
