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Asean leaders approve Burma chairmanship bid | |
(40 minutes later) | |
Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) have agreed that Burma can chair the regional bloc in 2014, amid some signs of reform in the country. | |
The move came at a summit of the 10-member group in Indonesia. | |
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told the BBC the decision was unanimous. | |
He said member states believed that Burma had made significant progress down the path of democracy. | |
The announcement came as Burma's pro-democracy party appeared poised to rejoin the country's political process. | |
'Growing' | |
The leadership of the Asean regional grouping rotates on an annual basis, but Burma was not allowed to take the top position last time because of its human rights record. | |
Some critics say it is still too early to award the high-profile role to Burma, where between 600 and 1,000 political prisoners are thought to remain behind bars. | |
But Ko Ko Hlaing, chief political adviser to the Burmese president, said Asean had welcomed Burma as a responsible leader. | |
"Be assured that we are now growing into a democratic society and we will do all our responsibilities and duties as a responsible government, reflecting the desires of the Myanmar (Burmese) people," he said. | |
In Burma, meanwhile, Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party is to meet on Friday to decide whether to rejoin the political process. | |
It boycotted polls in 2010 because of electoral laws that banned its leaders - former political prisoners - from standing as candidates. | |
This law and another that required registered parties to "safeguard" the military-written constitution have now been changed. | |
Ms Suu Kyi told the BBC she expected most of her party to support a decision to run in forthcoming by-elections. |