EU keeps human rights on Ministers' agenda<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (AFP): European officials yesterday insisted that
\nhuman rights and Myanmar should remain on the agenda when
\nEuropean Union (EU) foreign ministers meet their Southeast Asian
\ncounterparts this week.<\/p>\n
Officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
\n(ASEAN) warned that the momentum of ASEAN's expanding ties with
\nthe EU could be set back if disputes, including East Timor, took
\ncenter stage.<\/p>\n
"We've come here in a spirit of cooperation. We would like to
\nsee the cooperation move forward, not backward," said Rahardjo
\nJamtomo, an Indonesian delegate to the two-day ASEAN-EU senior
\nofficials' meeting which opened Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Jamtomo asked the EU side to "not bring issues which are
\nextraneous and irrelevant to this meeting."<\/p>\n
He said ASEAN was united in opposing discussion on East Timor,
\na former Portuguese colony integrated as part of Indonesia in
\n1976.<\/p>\n
ASEAN leaders warned after a Nov. 30 summit in Jakarta that
\nintroducing East Timor would lead to "unwarranted aggravation in
\nASEAN-EU relations." Indonesia has threatened to walk out if East
\nTimor is raised here.<\/p>\n
Myanmar's prospective membership in ASEAN could also become a
\ncontentious subject, with EU states wanting greater pressure on
\nthe military dictatorship. Asian nations have adopted a policy of
\n"constructive engagement. "<\/p>\n
Dutch official Joris Vos, whose government holds the EU
\npresidency, said he could not rule out a discussion on East
\nTimor, conceding that it was a problem, despite the issue not
\nbeing on the official agenda.<\/p>\n
"There will be certainly a discussion of human rights issues,"
\nsaid Vos, director-general for political affairs at the Dutch
\nforeign affairs ministry.<\/p>\n
Vos said European countries were "very much worried" about
\nMyanmar.<\/p>\n
Foreign ministers of the seven-member ASEAN and the 15-nation
\nEU will meet tomorrow and Friday to discuss ways to broaden
\npolitical, economic and cultural ties.<\/p>\n
The talks will be followed Saturday by a broader meeting
\ninvolving China, Japan and South Korea, part of preparations for
\na second summit of a new forum, the Asia-Europe Meeting in London
\nnext year.<\/p>\n
ASEAN groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
\nSingapore, Thailand and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
The EU groups Austria, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, Finland,
\nFrance, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal,
\nSpain, Sweden and the Netherlands.<\/p>\n
"I am just hoping that officials and ministers of both sides
\nwill see that there is tremendous potential in working on a
\npositive agenda and not allow our different perspectives -- two
\nissues really -- to wreck the meeting," a senior ASEAN diplomat
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
ASEAN officials want the focus to be on economic cooperation,
\ntrade and investments.<\/p>\n
Europe also holds a relatively small portion of the total
\nforeign direct investment in the region estimated at 250 billion
\ndollars.<\/p>\n
Human rights watchdog Amnesty International yesterday called
\nfor "a constructive and open discussion on human rights issues"
\nin Singapore.<\/p>\n
In a statement issued in Brussels, the EU's headquarters,
\nAmnesty charged Europe with being more concerned with good
\neconomic relations than human rights issues.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/eu-keeps-human-rights-on-ministers-agenda-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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