The secretary general of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has defended a decision to exclude discussions on the plight of Burmese Rohingya refugees from the agenda of this week's leaders' summit in Thailand.
Dr Surin Pitsuwan told journalists in Bangkok that the issue would be raised in informal bilateral meetings at the summit, which starts tomorrow, but would not be included in the formal agenda.
In recent weeks hundreds of Rohingya asylum seekers have left Burma. Some are being cared for in the Indonesian province of Aceh, after allegedly being beaten in Thailand and towed out to sea in a makeshift vessel.
The incident was criticised by the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner, Antonio Guterres, during a visit to Australia earlier this week.
Dr Surin says the decision to address the refugees' situation in more informal settings is not intended to undermine the importance of the issue, although his response hinted at the sensitivity of the issue for Thailand, which is hosting the ASEAN meeting.
"If you ask the officials to say, 'put it on the agenda', officials wouldn't dare. If you let the ministers and the leaders to decide among themselves, group dynamics work wonders," he said.
"What's being discussed informally or on the sideline eventually will make it to the formal process. If they are talking informally over dinner, don't underestimate it, and don't just deny the feasibility and the possibility that it could become a decision by the ministers and by the leaders.
"When they sit around the table, exchange views, dialogue among themselves, reasoning among themselves, they will come to an acceptable solution. Give the group dynamics a chance."
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