Human rights not high on ASEM agenda<\/p>\n
BERLIN (Reuters): Sensitive topics like human rights are
\nlikely to be soft-pedaled when foreign ministers from 25 European
\nUnion and Asian nations gather in Berlin on Monday to discuss a
\nvariety of global political and economic issues.<\/p>\n
Diplomats from the 15 EU states and 10 Asian nations attending
\nthe second Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) of foreign ministers since
\nits 1996 launch are not planning anything more than talk --
\nespecially on the explosive issue of human rights.<\/p>\n
Even though German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, who is
\nhosting the biannual meeting, has twice criticized China's human
\nrights record recently, the ASEM foreign ministers are not
\nexpected to produce anything more binding than a communique.<\/p>\n
Fischer said after a meeting in Bonn on Friday with China's
\nForeign Minister Tang Jiaxuan that China had made important steps
\ntowards opening itself to the world in the last decade, but that
\nits record on human rights was deteriorating.<\/p>\n
Fischer accused China of imprisoning political dissidents for
\nexpressing their views, condemned the extent it uses the death
\npenalty and said Germany was deeply concerned about its policies
\non Tibet.<\/p>\n
But Tang, standing next to Fischer, rejected the criticism and
\nurged Fischer to inspect China for himself.<\/p>\n
\"Seeing it once is better than hearing about it one hundred
\ntimes,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In Berlin, Fischer, Tang and their counterparts will also
\ndiscuss the crisis in former Yugoslavia and its consequences for
\nEurope, Russia's economic and political development, the
\nsituation on the Korean peninsula, Cambodia and human rights.<\/p>\n
Among financial issues to be discussed are the financial
\ncrisis in the Far East, the euro and issues involving the World
\nTrade Organization.<\/p>\n
That the ASEM meeting is taking place at all is viewed as a
\ntribute to diplomacy. Plans to hold a separate meeting in Berlin
\non Tuesday between foreign ministers from the EU and ASEAN
\n(Association of Southeast Asian Nations) nations were scrapped.<\/p>\n
This was canceled because the EU would not relax its ban on
\nofficials from ASEAN member Myanmar traveling to Germany. The EU
\nhas long criticized Myanmar's human rights record.<\/p>\n
Officials said that even though the EU-ASEAN meeting was
\ncanceled because of the row, it was important to keep the
\ndialogue open between the two regions through other channels such
\nas ASEM, of which Myanmar is not a member.<\/p>\n
Along with the 15 EU nations, ASEM is made up of China, Japan,
\nSouth Korea, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore,
\nThailand and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
Designed as an informal gathering between EU and Asian states,
\nASEM was launched with a summit of state and government leaders
\nin Bangkok in 1996. A second summit was held last year in London
\nand the third will take place in 2000 in Seoul. Foreign ministers
\nmet in 1997 in Singapore.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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