ASEAN information ministers meet

ASEAN information ministers meet

HANOI (AFP): Information ministers from the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations launched two days of talks here Thursday
amid efforts to forge a common IT policy despite huge differences
among member states.

ASEAN secretary general Rodolfo Severino said the organization
was keen to help poorer members develop their information
technology industries.

But he acknowledged some were loath to abandon the tight
controls they have traditionally maintained over information
despite the mounting pace of technological change.

"We will try to help those countries that are behind in terms
of expertise so they will not get further behind," he said.
"But it's up to each country ... we can't force anyone."

Host nation Vietnam is among those ASEAN members which have
sought to retain a tight control over information, even as they
have developed new software parks in a bid to attract investment
from IT firms.

The authorities here continue to operate firewalls on the
Internet which block access to websites they find objectionable,
such as those of the emigre opposition.

"Information and the right to access to information have
become an urgent need for all nations," Vietnam's Deputy Prime
Minister Nguyen Manh Cam told delegates in his opening address.

But he added that this should not come at the expense of
either "national sovereignty" or the "will of the people."
"We need to join efforts to seek effective solutions for
concerted management under a mutually agreed order that conforms
to the will of our peoples and to the respect for national
sovereignty," he said.

At a meeting in Thailand last week, ASEAN economic ministers
agreed a framework agreement for development of the Internet as
part of the organization's efforts to keep pace with its northern
neighbors as China moves towards World Trade Organization
membership.

The agreement, which is due to be signed in Singapore next
month, sets out a common policy framework for the Internet as
well as measures to strengthen infrastructure and human
resources, Severino said.

The information ministers were also due to discuss measures to
improve ASEAN's image amid mounting criticism of its
ineffectiveness in the face of the continuing crisis in Myanmar.

The meeting would "approve important projects to enhance
ASEAN's image .... and encourage the role of ASEAN as an
increasingly influential regional grouping in the Asia-Pacific
region and the world," Cam said.