Myanmar situation 'a bit of an embarrassment' for ASEAN: Yeo

To describe...

Burma [a country referred to as Myanmar] is ruled by one of the most brutal military dictatorships in the world; a dictatorship charged by the United Nations with a “crime against humanity” for its systematic abuses of human rights, and condemned internationally for refusing to transfer power to the legally elected Government of the country – the party led by Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The Burma Campaign

as "a bit of an embarrassment" surely gets George Yeo the sycophant of the year award.

By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo has expressed the hope that the Myanmar issue will not be too much of a distraction during the forthcoming ASEAN Summit and inaugural East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur.

Mr Yeo was responding to a question from Channel NewsAsia on the recent announcement that Aung San Syu Kyi's detention had been further extended by the Myanmar authorities.

Said Mr Yeo, "What's happening in Myanmar is very sad and a bit of an embarrassment to the ASEAN family. Some of the things which have happened there recently are still a mystery to us. But they are part of the family and we've got to support each other, so I hope the issue of Myanmar will not be too much of a distraction."

Myanmar's chairmanship of ASEAN took centre stage when the grouping's foreign ministers met in Laos in July for their annual meeting.

Myanmar's foreign minister announced in Vientiane that his country had decided to forego the grouping's chairmanship in 2006 after Malaysia.

It had indicated it would want to focus its attention on the ongoing national reconciliation and democratisation process, and 2006 would be a critical year for this process. - CNA /ct