APEC and terrorism

APEC and terrorism

While the world is still focused on Afghanistan, which has been bombarded by the United States for the past 11 days, APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) member countries are scheduled to begin their meeting on Thursday in Shanghai, which Chinese officials claim to be the "world's safest city".

This year's APEC meeting, scheduled to be attended by Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri, is considered to be unusual because it will not only talk about economic cooperation. The Shanghai meeting is almost certain to discuss what Washington terms the "war against terrorism". In this context, the massive U.S.-led military attacks on Afghanistan, now on their 11th day, will emerge as an interesting topic.

Not all of the APEC forum members wish that the organization be derailed from the issue of economic cooperation, but the U.S. and its allies seem to be struggling to convince member countries that APEC will lose its credibility if it ignores terrorism, which has proven to have disrupted the world economy.

Through the APEC forum, Indonesia should emphasize that the search for solutions to terrorism could be progressed by trying to deal with the roots of the problem that has led to these acts of terrorism.

-- Bisnis Indonesia