ASEAN's Bali summit

ASEAN's Bali summit

At least three important issues are expected to come up when
leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) gather in Bali starting on Tuesday, with leaders from
China, Japan, South Korea and India scheduled to meet with them
the following day.

First of all, the Balinese and the entire Indonesian nation
are grateful for the resolve of the ASEAN leaders and their
guests, who told President Megawati Soekarnoputri after the
terrorist attack on Oct. 12 last year that they would not
hesitate to travel to Bali to attend this year's summit.

To its credit, the government has worked hard to ensure the
safety of its guests during their stay in Bali, as can be seen
from the tight security measures that have been taken. This
solidarity has sent a strong message to the world that this
regional grouping stands united in the fight against terrorism.

ASEAN also has proved that it is able to work together to hunt
down terrorists, although it is still far from being able to
combat the roots of terror due to the complexity of the problem.

Second, this meeting will be the farewell ASEAN summit for
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, the longest-serving
leader in the region. The prime minister has set an example of
how a leader should exit the political stage while he is still at
the peak of his powers and popularity, avoiding the humiliation
of leaders such as former Indonesian president Soeharto, who was
forced out of office because the people would stand for no more
of his misrule.

In 2005, Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong is scheduled
to hand over power to his deputy, Brig. Gen. (ret) Lee Hsien
Loong. Hopefully, this model of peaceful political transfer will
be picked up by other countries in the region.

Third, the hope is widely shared among the people of ASEAN
that the Myanmar junta will free opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi in the not too distant future, hopefully before the summit on
Tuesday. Unless this happens, the ASEAN leaders will be
humiliated by the stubborn refusal of the military regime in
Yangon to answer their calls for the release of Suu Kyi. After
all, this is the first time ASEAN leaders have demanded the
release of an opposition leader in one of its member states.

A rather discouraging signal, however, has been given by
Myanmar Prime Minister Gen. Khin Nyut, who apparently is not the
least bit embarrassed to come to Bali, probably feeling the junta
has done more than enough by putting Suu Kyi under house arrest
for the third time since 1989.

In any case, despite their failure to secure the release of
Suu Kyi, the ASEAN leaders have set a historic precedent. It will
henceforth no longer be as easy as it was in the past for leaders
in the region to mistreat their political enemies or commit gross
human rights abuses without inviting a reaction from neighboring
countries. This is tremendous progress for ASEAN, which until
last year continued to honor noninterference as a cardinal
principle for the region.

As for the summit, we hope it will succeed in producing not
only documents containing wishes and beautiful dreams that cannot
be implemented. In the past, too many pledges and commitments
were issued at these summits. Ironically, these empty commitments
were often cited as examples of ASEAN's success in dealing with
the challenges facing it.

We hope that this time the ASEAN leaders will agree to support
Indonesia's initiative on the establishment of an ASEAN Security
Community. The concept is workable and ASEAN members should be
willing to implement it, and not just because they do not want to
embarrass their host, President Megawati. They need to talk
frankly and achieve concrete results.

The meeting of the ASEAN leaders with the heads of government
of China, Japan, South Korea and India is expected to allow the
regional grouping to accelerate economic growth as well as
improve political stability. The crisis on the Korean Peninsula
will naturally be a hot topic. China, Japan and South Korea will
all hold separate meetings before meeting with ASEAN.

ASEAN also has strong political and economic interests in a
peaceful solution being found for the problems on the Korean
Peninsula, because that would boost economic growth in the
region, which in turn would spread to ASEAN.

Also, closer cooperation between ASEAN and India would help
the two parties strengthen their respective interests.

We welcome the leaders to Bali and wish them success. The warm
welcome they receive from people on this island will hopefully
inspire them to do more for the benefit of the people of
Southeast Asia.