Asia and Africa begin AASROC meet in Bandung<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta\/Bandung<\/p>\n
Senior officials will begin the Asia-Africa Sub-Regional
\nOrganization Conference (AASROC) in Bandung on Monday, with the
\ngoal of reviving the spirit of cooperation between the two
\ncontinents.<\/p>\n
Security for the meeting will be extremely tight after an
\nexplosive device was found about five kilometers from the venue.<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri will officially open the
\nconference on Tuesday, when at least 25 ministers from Asian and
\nAfrican nations will begin meeting. About 20 international
\nobservers will be present.<\/p>\n
Delegates from the Philippines will be absent due to the
\nmilitary revolt in Manila.<\/p>\n
The conference will be cochaired by Indonesian Minister of
\nForeign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda and his South African counterpart
\nNkosazana Dlamini Zuma.<\/p>\n
The meeting is expected to bolster mutual support in
\naddressing the various security challenges in Asia and Africa,
\nranging from separatist movements to terrorism.<\/p>\n
"We need to build a strategic partnership, which we have
\nallowed to lapse over the years," the spokesman for the
\nIndonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Marty Natalegawa, said on
\nSaturday.<\/p>\n
He said the two continents, with their fragile security
\nsituations, needed to tackle problems such as illegal immigrants
\nand other transnational crimes.<\/p>\n
"We have to compare notes on how we have so far handled these
\ncrimes, and we will be able to share experiences based on parity,
\nwith none of us dictating to each other," Marty said.<\/p>\n
He said the relevance of the upcoming conference was that the
\ntwo continents believed that these problems could be handled more
\neffectively by working together.<\/p>\n
The conference is expected to yield agreements on
\ncomprehensive strategic partnerships in security and stability,
\nand on economic development.<\/p>\n
Megawati introduced the idea of holding the conference last
\nyear to mark the commemoration of the Asia-Africa Conference in
\n1955, which was presided over by her father, founding president
\nSukarno.<\/p>\n
The 1955 meeting, also held in the West Java capital of
\nBandung, led to the birth of the Non-Aligned Movement during the
\nCold War era. It also produced the Dasa Sila Bandung document,
\nwhich underlined the equal partnership between Asian and African
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
However, after the Cold War ended with the collapse of the
\nSoviet Union in 1991, along with the lingering economic and
\nsecurity problems plaguing the two continents, each member sought
\nits own way in getting support from developed countries.<\/p>\n
This resulted in the shunting aside of the common
\nunderstanding between Asian and African nations to keep their
\nvoice from being dominated by developed countries.<\/p>\n
The current conference is considered a preparatory meeting for
\nthe 50th celebration of the Bandung Conference in 2005.<\/p>\n
Megawati will open the conference on Tuesday at the historical
\nMerdeka Building, where the Asian-African Conference took place
\nin 1955.<\/p>\n
Marty said the conference should be more than a nostalgic
\nmeeting to remember the achievements of Sukarno.<\/p>\n
"We do not have any formal forum to bridge the two continents
\nand we need to establish such relations again," he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, police in Bandung said on Sunday they were
\ntightening security ahead of the AASROC meeting after a suspected
\nbomb was discovered near the conference venue.<\/p>\n
West Java Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Muryan Faizal Saladin,
\nhowever, dismissed the discovery of the explosive device as a
\n"significant threat" to security, and urged conference
\nparticipants and locals not to fear for their safety.<\/p>\n
"We have to clarify that what was found was not a bomb. It was
\nmerely a mineral water bottle filled with a paint-like substance
\nand was unlikely to explode. The blast heard by people was from
\nthe bomb squad destroying the bottle," Muryan told The Jakarta
\nPost.<\/p>\n
He said about 2,600 police and military personnel had been
\ndeployed across the city to safeguard the conference, adding that
\nmany of the personnel would be plainclothes officers stationed at
\nhotels where participants were staying and other locations.<\/p>\n
Bandung was normal on Sunday, with residents looking
\nunconcerned about security. People visited shopping malls, hotels
\nand other public places as normal.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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