It was only fitting that former President Corazon Aquino should lead Filipino activists in offering prayers for the unconditional release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the world’s only Nobel Prize winner who is being held prisoner, on her 60th birthday last Sunday. Ms Aquino’s husband, former Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, spent eight years in detention before he was allowed to go to the United States to be treated for a heart ailment. 

The date was also fitting. Sunday, Suu Kyi’s birthday, was also the 144th anniversary of the birth of Jose Rizal whose martyrdom sparked the Revolution that freed the Philippines from Spanish rule. Like our national hero, Suu Kyi is a modern-day heroine for democracy and freedom. It’s high time Burma‘s ruling junta released Suu Kyi who has spent the last 14 years in confinement. 

 

Ms Aquino and the activists pledged to help in Suu Kyi’s crusade to bring democracy to Burma. Akbayan Rep. Loreta Ann Rosales, a political detainee during Ferdinand Marcos’ dictatorship, said she would continue to work with other Southeast Asian legislators to press Burma‘s military junta to return to democracy. Rosales has filed a resolution asking the House of Representatives to oppose Burma‘s chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations unless it frees Suu Kyi and other dissidents and fulfills its promise to democratize. 

 

There may be a response from Burma when the Asean holds its ministerial meeting from July 24 to 29 in Vientiane, Laos. But right now the prospects of the military junta releasing Suu Kyi and democratizing Burma are not too encouraging. 

 

In the past three months, the junta has taken a firm stand against the release of Suu Kyi. It has resisted calls for Burma to give up the chairmanship of Asean in 2006 under an alphabetically rotating system. Laos, now the chair of Asean, will be succeeded in July by Malaysia. The scheduled next chair is Burma (Myanmar) in 2006. 

 

During the past three months, various nations and international entities have been urging Burma to democratize and to make a start by releasing Suu Kyi, to no avail. In April, legislators from five countries urged the Inter-Parliamentary Union that was meeting in Manila to put the Burma issue on the agenda, but failed in their efforts. 

 

Asean drew out Burma from isolation in 1997, taking the more conciliatory approach of “constructive engagement” with the reclusive generals of the ruling junta. Asean legislators have said that the approach has not produced any result. Those wanting Burma to change will have to exert stronger diplomatic and public relations pressure. 

 

The freedom-loving nations and organizations of the world continue to put pressure on Burma to release Suu Kyi and take definite steps to democratize. Among the latest to join the clamor for democratization and Suu Kyi’s release were a group of 14 Nobel laureates, the Norwegian Nobel Committee and Bishop Desmond Tutu who helped galvanize global opinion against apartheid in South Africa. 

 

Burma‘s critics say its poor human rights record and reluctance to reform tarnishes the reputation of Asean, and so it should not be allowed to become the chair of the 10-member regional grouping. If Burma takes over the chairmanship of Asean in 2006 without democratizing first, Asean could become alienated from its Western allies. If Burma takes over, it would host in 2007 a major security forum that is usually attended by Asean’s dialogue partners: the European Union, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan, Korea, China and Russia. 

 

The European Union and the United States, which have imposed economic sanctions on Burma, have warned that they would boycott Asean meetings if a country with a questionable human rights record would preside over them. It would be a pity if two of the world’s leading economic and political powers would disengage from a dialogue with Asean. 

 

It is fitting that former President Aquino, who presided over the transition of the Philippines from dictatorship back to democracy, should remind the nation and the world of the plight of Suu Kyi and Burma. The Philippines, as one of the vibrant democracies in Asia, has to lead the effort in the region to maintain pressure on Burma to democratize. And it could begin by continuing to call on Burma to give up the chairmanship of the Asean unless it shows a clear indication that it is following the road map to democratization.