October 16, 2007 (LPAC)--United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari is on a tour of Southeast Asia, attempting to recruit the Asean countries to a hardline stance on Myanmar, but he isn't having much success. Thailand's The Nation reports that Prime Minister Surayud "yesterday suggested his own version of the six-party talks [as just succeeded with North Korea] with Burma, in response to the Untied Nations' plea for Asean nations to make more of an effort to change the behavior of the Burmese military junta.

"A core working group should be set up to deal with Burma," he said, comprising all the Asean members, plus China and India.

The Malaysian Foreign Minister, Syed Hamid Albar, also dismissed suggestions that ASEAN could suspend Myanmar's Asean membership, according to the AFP.

"If you want Myanmar to continue to be engaged, first we should not be talking about suspending. Nobody can talk when you are threatening with all sorts of things," the foreign minister told a press conference.

"Secondly, there is no mechanism for suspension in ASEAN. ASEAN will never take that route," he said after a meeting with United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari.

Outside Asean, Japan, one of Myanmar's main donors, said on Tuesday that it was cancelling grants of about $4.7 million over the fatal shooting of a Japanese journalist during last month's protests, but is retaining most aid.