APEC meet is Indonesia's success story: Moerdiono

JAKARTA (JP): The government said yesterday that Indonesia's hosting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders meeting last week was a success, both in terms of substance and logistics.

"I think we have succeeded in satisfying our guests," Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono told reporters yesterday.

Moerdiono, who chaired the national host committee for the APEC leaders meeting, said the declaration by APEC leaders in Bogor to set a time frame for a regional free trade area was something which Indonesia had worked hard at for the past year.

"For this contribution to the future of the world economy, all the people in Indonesia should rejoice," he said at a press conference at his office.

He added that it had always been Indonesia's intention to be a good host to the APEC leaders, officials, entrepreneurs and members of the international media who were converging here for the APEC meetings.

"These past few days have been a truly historic opportunity for Indonesia. We have taken part in preparing a framework formula, on a schedule to reach free trade and economic integration, which was agreed upon by the 18 APEC leaders."

The Bogor declaration set free trade by 2010 for developed economies and 2020 for the developing members. The consensus was reached after strenuous negotiations and lobbying in the face of some apprehensions from the developing members. Malaysia voiced some reservations after the declaration was announced.

"In the next two decades, when, hopefully, the Bogor declaration becomes a reality, the world will remember that it was the Indonesian leadership in 1994 that made it happen," Moerdiono said.

The APEC meeting was also a major opportunity for Indonesia to create a positive image for the world given the extensive international media coverage, he said.

"It's true that not all the foreign media coverage of Indonesia was positive," he said, but stressed that "APEC was not the end of a process for us to introduce ourselves to the world."

He pointed out that Indonesia needed time to establish a positive image about the country, the people and its economic and social success stories. "We will all have to work even harder in this endeavor in the future. And we shall do it."

In response to a question, Moerdiono said some members of the international media tend to expose Indonesia's shortcomings rather than trying to provide more proportional coverage of Indonesia and the APEC meeting.

He also suspected some impropriety on behalf of various members of the international media. How else could they have covered the East Timorese scaling of the American embassy fences at the exact same time? he asked.

The Nov. 12 protest at the American embassy by about 29 East Timorese was shown, from the time they jumped over the fence, to the world by foreign television stations which were in Jakarta for the APEC meeting.

"How did they know about the timing?" Moerdiono said. "We thank God that we were not provoked."

He also pointed out that relations between migrants and East Timorese in Dili have been harmonious for years.

The last remark was in reference to the killing of an East Timorese by a Sulawesi trader at a Dili market on Saturday. The incident sparked a violent protest that lasted for three days and which was widely covered by the international media. (emb)

Editorial -- Page 4