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Friday, September 22, 2006
Asean should bring voice to the people, says party-list rep
Akbayan Partylist wants the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to stop acting like “friendship club” and “an association of elitist government.”
It should bring the voice of the people and take a stand on issues like the Myanmar crisis.
This according to Alvin Dizon, an executive committee member of Akbayan.
Dizon said they are hoping that the Asean will include in their discussion and should take a stand on the democratization of Myan-mar and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.
Aung San Suu Kyi is a member of the democratic parliament, a Nobel Prize Winner and a political detainee for more than 10 years now.
The agenda of the Asean Summit in December include concerns on oil and energy, trade and commerce, peace and security and the Asean charter.
Ernie Edralin of Akbayan youth on the other hand revealed that among the 28 Filipino delegates to the 27th Asian Inter-Parliamentary Organization (AIPO) General Assembly, only Rep. Nerissa Soon-Ruiz did not sign the manifesto calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners as well as for the democratization of Myanmar.
Manifesto
Other countries like Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia took the manifesto with them because they want all their officials, not only the AIPO delegates, to sign the manifesto.
They committed to give the signed manifesto to Akbayan Rep. Etta Rosales in New York before she goes to Geneva for the United Nations meeting.
Edralin also revealed that the Myanmar issue has already been included in the UN Security Council Agenda.
Akbayan President Ronald Llamas for his part said the 12th Asean’s main purpose is tourism and not trade and industry and to him, tourism is “not so sustainable.”
He also said that the members of the ASEAN should come up with monetary funds, which will serve as a “buffer” in case economic crisis will again hit Asia.
It should also be an opportunity to create alliances among civil societies in the Asean and the “trajectory” is to create a more democratic and responsive government. (MBG)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (September 22, 2006 issue)
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