10/05/2007
Agence France-Presse
SINGAPORE--Singapore's elder statesmen Lee Kuan Yew has warned Myanmar is a ticking "time bomb" for Southeast Asia which the region must help defuse, reports said Friday.
In comments carried widely by local media, the former prime minister said the entire region would be affected by a crisis in the military-ruled nation.
"An unstable Myanmar is a time bomb for the whole region," Lee said in his first comments on last month's brutal crackdown on street protests.
"ASEAN leaders know if the situation in Myanmar deteriorates... there will come a breaking point when much more brutal force will be used to put their people down.
"So it is in the best interest of every country in ASEAN to help stabilise Myanmar," said Lee.
Lee, Singapore's founding premier, holds the influential post of Minister Mentor in the cabinet of his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
He praised the unanimous reaction by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in expressing "sorrow and revulsion" at the crackdown in which soldiers shot at protesters led by revered Buddhist monks.
At least 13 people were killed and more than 2,000 arrested in the clampdown, according to the junta, but diplomats, rights activists and aid agencies say the figures could be higher.
Both Singapore and Myanmar are members of ASEAN, which also groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
The group has been criticized for adopting a soft approach on Myanmar, which has steadfastly ignored calls for democratic reforms and to free democracy icon Aung Saan Suu Kyi.
However, ASEAN foreign ministers used unusually sharp language to denounce the use of force against unarmed protesters.
In comments carried widely by local media, the former prime minister said the entire region would be affected by a crisis in the military-ruled nation.
"An unstable Myanmar is a time bomb for the whole region," Lee said in his first comments on last month's brutal crackdown on street protests.
"ASEAN leaders know if the situation in Myanmar deteriorates... there will come a breaking point when much more brutal force will be used to put their people down.
"So it is in the best interest of every country in ASEAN to help stabilise Myanmar," said Lee.
Lee, Singapore's founding premier, holds the influential post of Minister Mentor in the cabinet of his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
He praised the unanimous reaction by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in expressing "sorrow and revulsion" at the crackdown in which soldiers shot at protesters led by revered Buddhist monks.
At least 13 people were killed and more than 2,000 arrested in the clampdown, according to the junta, but diplomats, rights activists and aid agencies say the figures could be higher.
Both Singapore and Myanmar are members of ASEAN, which also groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
The group has been criticized for adopting a soft approach on Myanmar, which has steadfastly ignored calls for democratic reforms and to free democracy icon Aung Saan Suu Kyi.
However, ASEAN foreign ministers used unusually sharp language to denounce the use of force against unarmed protesters.
3 comments:
I say Singapore is a ticking time bomb if it doesn't shut the fuck up.
YOU FOOL ABOVE YOU ALWAY SAY FRONG YOU SLAVE BRAIN!
CAMBODIA IS A TICKING VOLCANO IF AH HUN XEN DID NOT DEFUSE TO HANOI!
Well, it has been 30 years now, and no sign of a volcano about to explode anywhere. So, get back in your rat's hole, will ya?
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