Asian lawmakers warn against Myanmar 'euphoria'

JAKARTA: A group of Southeast Asian lawmakers cautioned on Monday that human rights abuses in Myanmar should not be forgotten in the "euphoria" of by-elections seemingly won by Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition.

The Nobel laureate hailed a "new era" for Myanmar after her National League for Democracy said it had won 43 of the 44 seats it contested in landmark by-elections conducted Sunday. International reactions have also been positive.

But the group of regional legislators said that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and others, in their response to the elections, should not overlook abuses committed under nearly half a century of military rule.

"The by-election process in which Suu Kyi participated should not mean that others forget all the crimes committed by the regime," said Eva Sundari, head of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus.

The caucus is a group of lawmakers from six Southeast Asian nations, and is not officially associated with ASEAN.

"We call on ASEAN countries in the upcoming summit (this week) in Phnom Penh not to display euphoria. There must be a fair approach over the serious human rights violations there (Myanmar)," Sundari told reporters in Jakarta.

An observer mission, representing ASEAN's current Cambodian chair, on Monday declared Myanmar's by-elections as free and fair, while the bloc's foreign ministers meeting ahead of the Phnom Penh summit welcomed the "orderly" polls.

Observers believe Myanmar's new quasi-civilian government wanted Suu Kyi to win a place in parliament to burnish its reform credentials and smooth the way for an easing of Western sanctions.

Since March last year, when Myanmar's junta handed power to a nominally civilian government, the authorities have surprised even their critics with a string of reforms such as releasing hundreds of political prisoners.

But remaining political detainees, fighting between government troops and ethnic rebels, and alleged human rights abuses remain major concerns for Western nations which have imposed sanctions on the regime.