Hassan claims there is progress in Myanmar<\/p>\n
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda talked to The
\nJakarta Post's Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Kornelius Purba about
\nthe Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) annual
\nministerial meeting (AMM), the Post Ministerial Conference (PMC)
\nand the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), which will be held from June
\n29 to July 2 in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Despite the repeated warnings made by ASEAN leaders against
\nMyanmar during their summit in Bali last year, opposition leader
\nAung San Suu Kyi remains under house arrest. Why has ASEAN let
\nitself be made a 'hostage' by Myanmar's leaders and does not
\nissue punitive sanctions against the military junta?<\/p>\n
Myanmar is still as important as any other member of ASEAN. On
\nthe situation in Myanmar, in particular, its's implementation of
\nthe self-declared road-map to democracy, we continue to engage
\nwith them. Applying sanctions is not the issue here because it is
\nnot our approach to apply sanctions in order to get results, but
\nto continue to talk with them as part of the ASEAN family.<\/p>\n
It is a fact that the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi in May
\n2003 was a setback for Myanmar. But it was no less than the
\nforeign minister of Myanmar himself who admitted that it was also
\na setback for ASEAN. We will continue to discuss the issue at
\nASEAN meetings, in particular these upcoming meetings.<\/p>\n
Even when there is no progress from Myanmar?<\/p>\n
It can't be dismissed that there has been some progress, that
\nthey have been able to convene a national convention. That is
\nprogress, although it has not been enough to match our
\nexpectations. But it is progress.<\/p>\n
As the current chairman of ASEAN, what progress has Indonesia
\nachieved so far?<\/p>\n
We have been in charge for nine months. I think we have
\nachieved quite a lot. It was in Bali that we achieved a
\nhistorical summit, after 38 years of ASEAN, under our leadership
\nwe have been able to move our level of cooperation to a higher
\nplace, from ASEAN as an association to an ASEAN community.<\/p>\n
That matches our expectation because when we assumed our
\nchairmanship it has to be remembered what has happened in ASEAN
\nsince the first Bali summit in 1976, which issued the Bali
\nConcord I and adopted the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC).<\/p>\n
That's why we concluded that there was a need to develop a
\nbalance of cooperation, in political, economic and socio-cultural
\nsectors. We issued the Bali Concord II. In the course of nine
\nmonths we have been able to agree on the plan of action of the
\nASEAN Economic Community. We are about to conclude with a long
\nlist of activities. We will speak about what we are going to do
\nin the course of the next 16 years from now until 2020.<\/p>\n
We have already drafted the plan of action on the ASEAN socio-
\ncultural community for us to finalize between now and November.
\nWe are optimistic that during the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane later
\nthis year, our leaders will endorse the plan of action of the
\nASEAN Community.<\/p>\n
We are happy that during our leadership that China and India
\nhave acceded to the TAC. We are expecting in this AMM, Pakistan
\nto accede to the treaty along with Japan, It was also during our
\nchairmanship that Pakistan was received as a partner in the ARF.<\/p>\n
Why is Indonesia's draft concept of the ASEAN Security
\nCommunity (ASC) meeting resistance from some ASEAN members like
\nSingapore? Is it because there is a different level of
\ndemocratization?<\/p>\n
We are now talking about what we do agree on -- in full, by
\nall members -- regarding our ASC draft, not about the
\ndifferences. The six components of the plan of action remain:
\npolitical development, shaping and sharing of norms, conflict
\nprevention, conflict resolution and post-conflict peace-building.<\/p>\n
It's quite common for countries to have different points of
\nview, we have nuances in our discussion. It is understandable
\nbecause of the diversity within ASEAN in terms of political
\ndevelopment, economic development and other things. In
\nnegotiations it's not unusual. And of course there is give and
\ntake, but we are about to conclude.<\/p>\n
Is the revised version of the ASC concept less than Indonesia
\nexpected?<\/p>\n
No, because the six components are still there. Also, in terms
\nof organization, questions of principles and the space for
\nactivities remain. What has been changed from the original idea
\nis the time line. In our original draft we put the specific
\ntimeframe in our discussion. We should not have a time limit. And
\nso we are talking about short, medium, long-term.<\/p>\n
Malaysia reportedly has threatened to raise the issue of haze
\nin this meeting. Why does the haze issue remain unresolved after
\nso many years?<\/p>\n
I do not think that they are threatening us. In fact, ASEAN
\nhas concluded an agreement in how to deal with the haze
\nphenomenon, meaning that the issue has been on the agenda of
\nASEAN. What is important to be realized by our neighbors is that
\nnot only our neighbors are suffering, but also our own people are
\nsuffering. I personally welcome the police arrest of (one of) the
\nperpetrators of the forest fires.<\/p>\n
Will it be discussed in this meeting?<\/p>\n
We have a standard paragraph on haze, but so far none of our
\ncolleagues from ASEAN have raised the issue.<\/p>\n
There are allegations that the current administration wants to
\nsteal the ASEAN limelight for its own interests in the July 5
\npresidential election campaign. How do you react to such
\naccusations?<\/p>\n
It is a privilege for this Cabinet to have the opportunity, as
\nASEAN now has 10 members, meaning that this is a rare
\nopportunity. There is no intention at all to steal the show. It's
\na matter of regularity in the process.<\/p>",
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