In an e-mail interview, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong gave his assessment on the way forward for Myanmar, following his meeting with UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari on Wednesday.

Q: What is your assessment of the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Adviser Mr Ibrahim Gambari’s recent mission to Myanmar?

PM Lee: I had a useful exchange of views with Mr Gambari. He had had a useful visit to Myanmar, and had met both Senior General Than Shwe and Aung San Suu Kyi.

I assured him of Asean’s full support. I told him that we hoped his mission and the UN’s efforts would end the violence and begin a process of national reconciliation, including the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

I encouraged Mr Gambari to press on with the UN’s efforts because I believe that this offers the best hope for Myanmar and its people. There is a limit to what Singapore or Asean alone can do.

Finding a way forward for Myanmar will require the coordinated engagement and combined efforts of all the major interested powers. To bring this about, the UN must play a leading role.

Q: What are the next steps to be taken after this mission?

PM Lee: A fresh approach must be found to restore stability and normalcy to Myanmar and to give hope to the Myanmar people.

It will have to be based on reconciliation among all parties, and a peaceful, progressive transition to a government enjoying greater legitimacy at home and recognition abroad. But it will take time.

Q: How does Asean view the situation in Myanmar?

PM Lee: Instability in Myanmar can affect the whole region, especially as it is a member of Asean.

It is better for Myanmar to be inside the family than outside. Therefore Myanmar’s difficulties are also Asean’s difficulties.

So Asean will continue to engage Myanmar, as we encourage and help it to move forward.

I wrote to Senior General Than Shwe last week to convey the concerns of the Asean countries. I think that he appreciates our concerns. He had told me, when I visited Myanmar in March 2005, that Myanmar would always be a responsible member of Asean.

Q: What role can the major powers play in resolving this situation?

PM Lee: China and India are critical to any international approach to Myanmar. Both share borders with Myanmar. They are therefore in a unique position to encourage Myanmar to work towards a political solution and national reconciliation.

China has been helpful, quietly exerting its positive influence to make Mr Gambari’s visit a success.

Japan too plays an important role, because it is a major aid donor to Myanmar.

I believe that all of these countries share Asean’s desire to see Mr Gambari and the UN succeed, and bring long term stability to Myanmar.

Q: Some have called for Asean to take an even tougher line on Myanmar. Your views?

PM Lee: We have to be mindful of the realities of the situation. First, sanctions against a regime that is ready to isolate itself are more likely to be counter-productive than effective.

Second, the military, as a key institution in Myanmar, has to be a part of the process of national reconciliation, and of any lasting solution.

As Thant Myint-U, a historian who is a grandson of the former UN Secretary-General U Thant, has said, the ‘sanctions argument is deeply flawed’, and the world must be careful that the change it wants to see in Myanmar does not lead to the anarchy seen in Iraq.