By Raju Gopalakrishnan

MANILA, July 30 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian foreign ministers began a meeting on Monday that will focus on how to deal with military-ruled Myanmar, whose dismal human rights record is diverting attention from the bloc's efforts at economic integration.

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo inaugurated the annual ministerial meeting of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) but did not specifically mention Myanmar or human rights, an issue that has divided the group.

"An ASEAN community is going to be anchored first and foremost on economic integration, with a focus on social justice and raising the standard of living in the region," she said. "It is about creating a dynamic force in Asia to maximise the benefit of globalisation."

ASEAN's goal is to achieve economic integration among its 10 members by 2015 but the task looks difficult with nations at differing stages of development. Singapore for example is one of the richest nations in Asia while Laos is among the poorest.

The bloc is also under a cloud over Myanmar and its military regime. The European Union, which ASEAN hopes to emulate, and the United States have criticised the Asian group for failing to bring enough pressure on Myanmar to restore democracy and free Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

That, however, may be changing. At an informal dinner on Sunday, many of the ASEAN ministers sharply criticised Myanmar.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo said the host nation was joined by several other countries in calling for the restoration of democracy in the former Burma and the release of Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest since May 2003.

IMPATIENCE

"I sense there is impatience, there is frustration," Romulo told reporters. "So we urged Myanmar in the spirit of ASEAN that they should accelerate the process of the roadmap to democracy.

"This will not only benefit the people of Myanmar, but our own credibility as ASEAN will be enhanced."

It was a major departure from tradition for ASEAN, which usually avoids commenting on the internal affairs of member states.

ASEAN diplomats have also blamed Myanmar for blocking an attempt by the group to set up a human rights commission under a landmark charter that it is preparing.

A task force drafting the charter has completed the first version but left out a provision creating a human rights body. The issue will now be decided by the foreign ministers, the diplomats said.

The first draft, a copy of which was shown to Reuters, agreed to maintain the bloc's traditional way of deciding issues through a consensus and made no mention of sanctions for member states guilty of serious violations of the charter.

These issues have polarised ASEAN, with the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia among those pushing for a human rights body and for a departure from ASEAN's time-honoured consensus diplomacy.

Myanmar is among those blocking the moves, while Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, which all have one-party governments, are also not comfortable with the ideas, diplomats have said.

Singapore and Brunei make up the rest of the grouping.

Analysts however say that the idea of an ASEAN human rights code will be difficult to achieve given the differing interpretations of the term within the group and stricter anti-terrorism laws across the region.

"The best that ASEAN can achieve in its landmark charter is a best-efforts pledge to work for adherence to human rights," said columnist Ana Marie Pamintuan in the Philippine Star newspaper.

"The charter provision will have to be vaguely worded or several laws used to fight terrorism could be considered violations." (Additional reporting by Manny Mogato)

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