President Habibie skips APEC summit<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie will not attend this
\nweekend's summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
\nin Auckland, in what is seen as a snub to host New Zealand for
\nits criticism of Indonesia's handling of the situation in East
\nTimor.<\/p>\n
"The meeting is not significant enough for the President to be
\npresent," Minister\/State Secretary Muladi said when announcing
\nHabibie's decision not to travel to New Zealand for the summit.<\/p>\n
Habibie has decided to stay in the country to devote his
\nattention to preparing his accountability speech for the People's
\nConsultative Assembly, Muladi said.<\/p>\n
This will be the first time Indonesia will not be represented
\nby its president since APEC began holding an annual summit in
\n1993. Indonesia played host to the summit in 1994, and Habibie
\nattended last year's summit in Kuala Lumpur.<\/p>\n
Habibie had planned to attend the Sept. 11 to Sept. 12
\ngathering, with media executives already receiving invitations to
\njoin the President's entourage. Along with his decision not to
\nattend the summit, aides say the President has also canceled
\nplanned out-of-town trips for the next several days, including
\none to Surakarta, Central Java.<\/p>\n
Muladi said Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Finance
\nGinandjar Kartasasmita would lead the Indonesian delegation to
\nthe APEC summit.<\/p>\n
Habibie has come under strong criticism at home for events in
\nEast Timor.<\/p>\n
Under pressure from the military, he declared martial law in
\nEast Timor on Tuesday in spite of opposition from his Cabinet and
\nthe House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
Had he attended the APEC summit, Habibie could have expected a
\nbarrage of criticism from foreign leaders, with the violence in
\nEast Timor expected to be the main topic of discussion on the
\nsidelines of the summit.<\/p>\n
New Zealand has been vocal in criticizing Indonesia's handling
\nof the situation in East Timor and leads the chorus of nations
\ncalling for an international peacekeeping force to stop the
\nviolence in the territory.<\/p>\n
New Zealand Foreign Minister Don McKinnon is organizing an
\nemergency informal meeting with other foreign ministers for
\nWednesday night to discuss the East Timor issue.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas will travel
\nto Auckland later this week and will miss the Wednesday night
\nmeeting. (emb)<\/p>",
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