Indonesia's foreign minister has called on Burma to be more forthcoming with its fellow members of the Association of Southeastern Asian Nations, or be prepared to defend itself alone before the United Nations Security Council.
Indonesia's Hassan Wirajuda told reporters today that Burma's failure to brief ASEAN members on its democratic reforms has left those nations ill-equipped to defend Burma in the international arena.
Burma insists it is carrying out democratic reforms. The United States is among many nations that have pressured Burma to speed up its progress.
U.S. officials have asked the U.N. Security Council to pass a resolution calling on Burma to change its repressive policies, including detention of political dissidents.
Wirajuda said ASEAN members believe that leaders of Burma's military government feel insecure about how they would fit into a democratically-run country.
Earlier this year, Burmese leaders announced they are extending the house arrest for democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi for another year. She has been detained by the government for most of the past 16 years.
Information for this report is provided by AFP and Reuters.
