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Senior officials from nine of the 10 Asean member countries agreed at a meeting in Jakarta on Friday to pressure Burma to allow democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to participate in her country’s 2010 election.

Imron Cotan, the secretary general of the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry and the country’s delegate to the two-day meeting, said the Suu Kyi’s situation had been discussed informally and that the senior officials had come up with recommendations to submit to their foreign ministers.

A delegate from the 10th Asean member country, Burma, was present at the meeting — which also discussed other matters — but it is understood that he played only an observer role while the issue of Suu Kyi was being discusse d.

Suu Kyi was sentenced last week to 18 more months of house arrest after an American man swam uninvited to her lakeside home. Suu Kyi has already spent 14 of the last 20 years living in detenti on.

“We will convey our legitimate concerns over Aung San Suu Kyi’s sentence so that she will be allowed to take part in next year’s election,” Imron said, adding that it would be up to the foreign ministers to accept the concerns and convey them to Burma’s junta.

Earlier on Friday, ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said that Indonesia had reiterated its call for Suu Kyi to be released and that the junta was aware of the country’s stance.

“Our position [on Burma] remains unchanged,” Faizasyah said, adding that Indonesia had set a precedent in Asean in 2003 when then Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda openly demanded his Burmese counterpart explain the reasons behind Suu Kyi’s incarcerati on.

Faizasyah said the move was the first of its kind and was in contrast to the noninterference policy between Asean nations.

He said that the Asean nations had chosen to engage with Burma, while the international community used sanctions to deal with the junta.

“However, it’s doubtful whether sanctions really help change the situation,” Faizasyah said.

The ministry said that the main agenda of the Jakarta meeting was to discuss the changes that are taking place in the 10-member regional bloc following the implementation of the Asean Charter, which came into force in December 2008, the blueprint for the Asean political-security community and the preparations of the upcoming Asean Summit in October in Thailand.