ARF members urged to work 'seriously' to fight terrorism<\/p>\n
Ker Munthit, Associated Press, Phnom Penh<\/p>\n
Cambodia's prime minister urged Asian and Western countries to
\nwork \"seriously\" to combat rising terrorist threats in Southeast
\nAsia, a region many fear is becoming a breeding ground for
\nIslamic militancy.<\/p>\n
\"Concern for world security ... requires us to exert our best
\nefforts\" to cooperate in the fight, Hun Sen said as he opened two
\ndays of talks by foreign ministers of the Association of
\nSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN).<\/p>\n
They will join their Asian and Western counterparts, including
\nU.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Australian Foreign
\nMinister Alexander Downer, at a 23-member Asian-Pacific regional
\nsecurity meeting on Wednesday and Thursday. Japan, China and
\nRussia will also attend.<\/p>\n
North Korea's nuclear ambitions, Myanmar's detention of pro-
\ndemocracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the SARS epidemic are high
\non the agenda. But the less-decisive issue, terrorism, is
\nexpected to dominate talks.<\/p>\n
The arrest of eight suspected Islamic extremists in recent
\nweeks in Cambodia and neighboring Thailand have highlighted
\nsecurity concerns in the region.<\/p>\n
The men were accused of being members of Jamaah Islamiyah. The
\nregional hardline Islamic network is blamed for the Oct. 12
\nbombings that killed 202 people on the Indonesian resort island
\nof Bali. Four suspects were allegedly plotting attacks on
\nembassies in Bangkok.<\/p>\n
\"I sincerely urge (you) to work seriously and intensively to
\nforge effective responses to the potential threats to our
\nregion,\" Hun Sen said.<\/p>\n
ASEAN has long followed a policy of not commenting on its
\nmembers' internal affairs and the decision to discuss Suu Kyi at
\nall reflects the growing international pressure on Myanmar's
\nmilitary regime to release the Nobel laureate.<\/p>\n
\"All of us in ASEAN wish Aung San Suu Kyi will be free, to be
\nable to do what she would like to do,\" the ASEAN secretary-
\ngeneral, Ong Keng Yong, told The Associated Press on Monday.<\/p>\n
\"But we don't do it in a confrontational manner. We don't do
\nit in a way that make people feel completely unpleasant about
\nit.\"<\/p>\n
Suu Kyi was detained on May 30 after a clash between her
\nsupporters and a pro-government crowd in northern Myanmar. The
\n1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner has been kept incommunicado since
\nthen, triggering international outcry.<\/p>\n
Powell last week urged Myanmar's neighbors to put pressure on
\nits military rulers, calling them democracy-oppressing \"thugs,\"
\nbut Ong said other important issues need to be discussed.<\/p>\n
Powell will also try to muster support at the ASEAN Regional
\nForum to help defuse the standoff over North Korea's suspected
\nnuclear weapons programs.<\/p>\n
Tensions in the region have been mounting since October, when
\nU.S. officials said North Korea admitted having a covert nuclear
\nprogram, and ASEAN ministers want assurances that war will not
\nbreak out.<\/p>\n
\"A nuclear-weapons free Korea and a peaceful resolution to the
\ncurrent tension through dialog\" is essential for peace in the
\nregion, the ASEAN foreign ministers said in a draft joint
\ncommunique to be issued on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
ASEAN had hoped North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun
\nwould attend the Phnom Penh meeting, adding weight to
\ndiscussions, but the North's delegation is being led by diplomat
\nHo Jong, who arrived on Monday.<\/p>\n
Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said the 10-member
\nASEAN would urge Pyongyang to return to Nuclear Non-Proliferation
\nTreaty, \"but North Korea should also feel secure that it will not
\nface any aggression.\"<\/p>\n
North Korea withdrew from the treaty and restarted its nuclear
\nfacilities after Washington suspended free oil shipments. Last
\nweek, Pyongyang threatened to develop a nuclear arsenal to deter
\nU.S. hostility.<\/p>\n
Though severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is on the
\ndecline, the regional grouping said it would discuss ways to
\ncontain the disease's spread. SARS has killed nearly 780 people
\nworldwide, most of them in Asia, battering the tourist industry.<\/p>\n
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
\nMyanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
The ARF comprises ASEAN plus Australia, Canada, China, the
\nEuropean Union, India, Japan, Mongolia, North and South Korea,
\nNew Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Russia and the United States.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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