A group of Cambodian lawmakers has formed a caucus on Burma, to call for that country's military government to speed up democratic reforms.
The lawmakers today launched the Cambodia Parliamentary Caucus on Burma. It is part of the ASEAN Inter parliamentary Myanmar Caucus, a group of lawmakers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
A Cambodian caucus member, Son Chhay, said Burma is increasingly facing new regional threats - including drug and human trafficking, HIV/AIDS, refugees, human rights abuse and deforestation.
The head of the ASEAN caucus on Burma, Zaid Ibrahim of Malaysia, said Burma's situation is worsening after nearly a half-century of military rule. He called on ASEAN and the United Nations Security Council to push Burma for reform.
Burma, also known as Myanmar, has been a member of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations since 1997.
Information for this report is provided by AP.
