Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad pressed Asean to expel Burma, even though he and ex-president Suharto had spearheaded the effort to admit the country in 1997.
The second occasion came amid frustration in Asean at the government's intransigence. At the Asean summit in Vientiane in 2004, the leaders took a rare joint action forcing Burma to skip the Asean chair in 2006, with Rangoon citing domestic constraints as the reason.
The third time was in New York on the sidelines of a United Nations meeting in New York at the end of September 2007. After a long and heated debate, Asean issued its strongest statement expressing “revulsion” against the killing of Buddhist monks and supporters of the democratic movement. It was at this crucial moment that Asean and the West, especially the US, held close consultations about their joint efforts to influence positive change in Burma. A few months later, Barack Obama was elected president of the US with a new policy focus on Asia, in particular Asean, which has paved the way for the present rapprochement with Burma.
However, it is worth mentioning that during Thailand's 18-month chair from July 2008 to December 2010, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya tried to help Suu Kyi win her freedom by initiating a request for a pardon following a court decision convicting her of violating Burma's internal security law. But Asean could not reach a consensus due to strong opposition from the new Asean members.
In retrospect, the evolution of Asean-Burma relations has contributed to the recognition the Thein Sein government now enjoys. Suu Kyi's role has been indispensable. The most frequently asked question today is: What would happen if Burma had been left behind and not allowed to join Asean? Burma is emerging from its isolation. Suu Kyi is free and popular and giving hope to her peoples. Most importantly, Burma is no longer the pawn of India and China. If the ongoing reforms promote democratic developments, Burma could easily elevate itself as a key regional player, as Indonesia has succeeded in doing since its political transformation in 1998.
Undeniably, Burma's two decades of oppression, strongly backed by Asean, have antagonized Suu Kyi and created a deep scar on her psyche. Everything that Asean did upset her; worse still, it consistently undermined her democratic struggle, not to mention prolonging the suffering of the Burmese people.
The time has come now for both sides to show leadership to enable the healing process to begin. They must reach out to each other to reconcile past differences. They have to synergize strategies and efforts to ensure that there is no going back on the road to reform, and also to ease the country's regional integration. Only then can Burma become a worthy family member of Asean.
Kavi Chongkittavorn is senior editor and a columnist at the Bangkok-based English-language daily newspaper, The Nation. This article appeared in The Nation on Monday.