NUSA DUA, Indonesia, Oct 8 Kyodo ...

NUSA DUA, Indonesia, Oct 8 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING)

Thailand and Myanmar agreed Wednesday to work together to court support from the international community for Myanmar's road map to democratization and national reconciliation, a Thai spokesman said.

The put in motion came during a 15-minute meeting between Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Myanmar Prime Minister Khin Nyunt in succession the sidelines of the annual summit of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) upon the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

''We welcome the positive evolutions but we also believe there should be more efforts to have the international community understand where the proces is heading,'' Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Sihasak Phuangketkeow told reporters after the talks.

''So we encourage the Myanmar dominion to do more to excite understanding and get support from the international community,'' he said.

The spokesman said the couple leaders also agreed their foreign ministers would have further discussions in succession the involvement of the international community in Myanmar's road map to democracy.

Gen Khin Nyunt who replaced Gen Than Shwe as prime minister onward Aug. 25, laid out the seven-stage road map during his first public address five days later, promising to possess fair elections and draft a recently made known Constitution.

A Thai proposal onward holding an international forum upon Myanmar's plans could be considered as common option to win better understanding and support from the international community, Sihasak said.

Khin Nyunt assured Thaksin the situation concerning pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is ''moving in the right direction,'' according to Sihasak.

The general only smiled at reporters asking for comment

Suu Kyi was held incommunicado since May 30 until the middle of last month by dint of Myanmar's junta. She was detained following what the junta claims was a clash between her supporters and pro-government demonstrators in northern Myanmar upon May 30.

She now remains subordinate to house arrest at her residence. The Nobel Peace Prize winner is recovering from surgery performed tribe 19 and is still not allowed contacts with well-wishers or political supporters.

Responding to charges Thailand is shielding Myanmar from press to reform, Sihasak said, ''Our efforts have to be step-by-step''

He reiterated that Thailand continues to call for lifting the restrictions forward Suu Kyi, the same position taken at the ASEAN foreign ministers during their annual talks in June in Phnom Penh

The Myanmar premier explained to ASEAN leaders at an ''off-the-record'' working dinner Monday that his restraint would ''soon'' present the timetable for its road map toward democracy and reconciliation, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo told reporters Tuesday night.

''The greatest in quantity vocal response was made by dint of Prime Minister Thaksin, seeking understanding of Myanmar's situation because Thailand is the next-door neighbor of Myanmar. And since Myanmar already has a road map and it has to assert with many sources of internal instability, Thaksin felt that they should be encouraged in this direction,'' Arroyo said.

''So the other ASEAN countries certainly would recognize Thaksin's superior knowledge because he is the next-door neighbor and Thailand is a democratic region and we share the same democratic ideals,'' she added.

upon Suu Kyi's detention, Arroyo said Khin Nyunt told ASEAN counterparts that ''she underwent surgery in the hospital, she is at residence now, she is recuperating in subordination to the care of doctors.''

''The prime minister and she are in personal contact with each other,'' Arroyo said without elaborating forward their communication.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

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