RI should not rush into taking stance on UN reforms<\/p>\n
Primastuti Handayani
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Beijing<\/p>\n
Indonesia should not rush into taking its stance in the
\nincreasingly heated debate on the United Nations (UN) reforms, as
\nvoting would only be taking place later next month, Minister of
\nForeign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said here on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Speaking before a meeting between President Susilo Bambang
\nYudhoyono and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao at the Great Hall
\nof the People, Hassan said that members of the Association of
\nSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including Indonesia, were very
\ndisappointed with the ongoing debate on UN reform.<\/p>\n
\"The real point of the extension of the UN security council
\nhas now become the main topic of discussion, and thus is likely
\nholding up other problems within the context of UN reform,\" said
\nHassan, who just returned from attending the ASEAN Ministerial
\nMeeting in Vientiane early this week.<\/p>\n
\"ASEAN has demanded a comprehensive process (of reform).\"<\/p>\n
\"We (ASEAN) really hope that we will not be pushed to take
\nsides either with Japan or China in the debate.\"<\/p>\n
The proposal on UN reforms came from Secretary-General Kofi
\nAnnan, who has served for over eight years, following corruption
\nallegations within the body, including the US$20 billion UN-Iraq
\nOil for Food Program and cases involving UN peacekeepers trading
\nfood for sex with young girls in several missions around the
\nworld.<\/p>\n
He had said that the UN was in desperate need of cleaning up
\nto improve its cumbersome bureaucracy and to resolve its
\noutstanding problems.<\/p>\n
To promote the UN reforms prior to the General Assembly summit
\nin September in New York from Sept. 14 to Sept. 16, Annan
\nappointed noted Indonesian diplomat and former foreign minister
\nAli Alatas, along with other envoys including Irish Foreign
\nMinister Dermot Ahern, Mozambique's former president Joaquin
\nChissano and former president of Mexico Ernesto Zedillo, to help
\nadvance his reforms.<\/p>\n
The scheduled voting on UN reform this week was rescheduled as
\nthe Group of Four (G-4) of India, Japan, Germany and Brazil still
\nhad to consult with the African Union and the European Union on
\nAug. 4 or Aug. 5.<\/p>\n
\"I don't yet know whether there will be a concession, as the
\nmeeting in London on July 25 did not reach a conclusion,\" Hassan
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Also, he said, the UN Secretary-General's office would be on
\nholiday next month, forcing the voting process to be scheduled
\nfor late August.<\/p>\n
\"Therefore, we don't want the decision-making process on the
\nUN security council issue to be made in a rush.\"<\/p>\n
Separately, presidential spokesman on international affairs
\nDino P. Djalal briefed reporters saying that during Susilo and
\nHu's meetings, both countries also discussed each other's stance
\non the UN reforms.<\/p>\n
China, Dino said, also supported Indonesia's candidacy in
\ngaining a non-permanent seat on the reformed UN Security Council
\nfor the 2007-2008 period.<\/p>\n
Hassan also said that the East Asian Summit in Kuala Lumpur
\nwould also involve Australia, New Zealand and India, apart from
\nChina, Japan and South Korea.<\/p>",
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