Disgraced Akbar adds spice to ASEAN parliamentarian meet<\/p>\n
Ben Rowse, Agence France-Presse, Hanoi<\/p>\n
Disgraced Indonesian parliament speaker Akbar Tandjung will be
\namong the Southeast Asian politicians who will gather on Monday
\nin the Vietnamese capital for talks on human rights, terrorism
\nand other regional issues.<\/p>\n
A delegation from the European Parliament, which arrived in
\nHanoi on Saturday in a bid to meet detained religious leaders,
\namid concern it has been refused meetings with detained church
\nleaders, will also attend the 23rd general assembly of the ASEAN
\nInter-Parliamentary Organization (AIPO),<\/p>\n
The visit, led by Germany's Hartmut Nassauer, was prompted by
\na resolution passed by the European legislature on July 5 last
\nyear calling for the release of religious prisoners in Vietnam,
\nwhich maintains tight control on all spiritual activities.<\/p>\n
Hanoi subsequently declared it would show zero tolerance to
\nany individuals or organizations asking to conduct human rights
\ninvestigations in Vietnam.<\/p>\n
Other delegates arrived in the capital on Sunday for the
\nannual event, which was held last year in Bangkok.<\/p>\n
AIPO is made up of the eight states with parliaments from the
\n10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations -- Cambodia,
\nIndonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand
\nand Vietnam.<\/p>\n
The other two ASEAN members not part of the AIPO grouping,
\nBrunei and Myanmar, have no legislatures but will attend the
\nmeeting as observers.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for Indonesia's Attorney General Office said on
\nSaturday no travel ban had been imposed on Akbar preventing him
\nfrom attending the assembly.<\/p>\n
The seasoned and shrewd legislator, who is also chairman of
\nthe former ruling Golkar Party, was sentenced to three years in
\nprison on Wednesday for misusing some US$4.5 million in state
\nfunds. He remains free pending appeal.<\/p>\n
Nguyen Van An, chairman of the National Assembly, Vietnam's
\nrubber-stamp parliament and about whom murky rumors still linger
\nabout his links to an explosive gangster scandal, will give the
\ninaugural address on Monday as the current president of AIPO.<\/p>\n
Vu Mao, the body's secretary general, told reporters last week
\nthat measures to boost economic, cultural and social cooperation
\nin the region, including the establishment of an ASEAN
\nuniversity, were also on the agenda.<\/p>\n
"AIPO will support ASEAN government efforts at promoting
\neconomic integration and in other fields by providing a legal
\nframework to develop the spirit of ASEAN."<\/p>\n
Mao, chairman of Vietnam's parliamentary external relations
\ncommittee, said the general assembly would also strive to
\nstrengthen the relationship between ASEAN and AIPO, which he
\ncompared to that of a country's executive and its legislature.<\/p>\n
"In each of our countries the relationship between these two
\nbranches is very close, however in ASEAN this relationship has
\nnot been as we have hoped for."<\/p>\n
Delegates from 10 countries, including Australia, Canada,
\nChina, Japan and the United States, will also attend the meet as
\nobservers.<\/p>\n
But, in what is likely to fuel further skepticism over the
\nusefulness of yet another regional talkshop that operates on a
\nconsensus basis, the wives and spouses of delegates have also
\nbeen invited for "sightseeing and shopping".<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the day after the formal closing ceremony, the
\nlegislators will travel to Vietnam's UNESCO world heritage site
\nof Halong Bay to visit its 3,000-plus towering limestone islands
\nrising from the Gulf of Tonkin.<\/p>\n
AIPO was initiated by Indonesia in 1974 and officially
\nestablished as an organization in 1977.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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