ASEAN to talk on Myanmar : Thai PM

THAILAND: Southeast Asian leaders will discuss Myanmar's trial of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on the sidelines of a summit in South Korea next week, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Sunday.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) earlier this month issued a rare rebuke against military-ruled Myanmar, its most troublesome member, for the regime's treatment of the Nobel Laureate.

Aung San Suu Kyi, 63, faces up to five years in jail on charges of breaching the terms of her house arrest after an incident in which an American swam to her lakeside house.

"ASEAN leaders will meet and discuss an issue that has received international attention - about a neighbouring country - for further cooperation," the Thai premier said in his weekly television programme.

The ASEAN-Korea Commemorative Summit takes place on June 1-2 in the southern resort island of Jeju, overshadowed by the growing security threat from North Korea and the issue of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Thailand, which holds the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN, issued a statement on May 18 expressing "grave concern" about Aung San Suu Kyi and saying that the "honour and the credibility" of Myanmar's government were at stake.

Myanmar's ruling junta hit back a week later, saying that it "strongly rejected" the statement and accusing Thailand of meddling in its internal affairs.

Bangkok, Sunday, AFP