Don't abandon ASEAN

Don't abandon ASEAN

For two consecutive years,the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) summits have been dominated by the issue of
terrorism. While in last year's summit, the leaders of the 10-
member group focused their attention more on global terrorism
threats following the Sept. 11 tragedy, this time around some
group members, like Indonesia, joined the Philippines in learning
the hard way about the horror terrorism can cause.

At the eighth annual summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the
ASEAN leaders on Monday issued a joint promise to the
international community that they are united in their
determination to crack down on the terrorists who have damaged
the group's reputation and endangered the lives of the people
living in the region and guests visiting the ASEAN countries.

To show their seriousness, the leaders expressed their stance
against terrorism and their determination to fight it in six
points of the eight-point Declaration on Terrorism.

They firmly promised to intensify their efforts, collectively
and individually, to prevent, counter and suppress the activities
of terrorist groups in the region.

"We resolve to ensure the security and harmony of our
societies and the safety of our peoples and also of others who
are in our countries and in the region," read the statement.

In a rare move for ASEAN, the heads of government gave details
of the activities they would undertake within one year to combat
the threat of terrorism in the region, including the
establishment of a regional counter-terrorism center this month
in Kuala Lumpur.

In the remaining two points, the leaders urged the world not
to arbitrarily punish the region for terrorist acts. They also
told the industrialized countries not to indiscriminately advise
their citizens to avoid visiting or dealing with ASEAN countries.
The tourism industry, a major revenue source for countries in the
region, has been badly affected by the Bali blasts.

It is also a relief for the Muslims living in the region, who
are due to start the Ramadhan fasting month on Wednesday, that
the heads of the government implicitly warned the world not to
identify terrorism with Islam.

Many Muslims feel humiliated and cornered by allegations that
directly link the recent terrorist attacks with Islam. Indonesia,
the world's largest Muslim country, is home to about 200 million
Muslims. The number of people involved in terrorism is infinitely
small compared to the majority of law-abiding Muslims.

Alleged Muslim terrorists have reportedly been operating in
Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. But again, we must
remember that Islam is a peaceful religion, and we should not
blame Islam for the activities of these irresponsible people.

We praise the leaders for their strong joint stance against
terrorism and hope that their promises will be followed up by
immediate concrete steps. Otherwise the declaration will just be
another empty promise, and will become little more than an
historical footnote. The international community is waiting for
evidence that the region can resolve its own problems.

In the meantime, we also hope that the world, especially the
more advanced nations, does not just blame the countries in the
region, but offers concrete cooperation to combat security
threats and to address the roots of the problem.

ASEAN countries need world assistance because many of them are
still busy resolving their prolonged economic crises. Abandoning
ASEAN just because of its inability to institute satisfactory
measures in eradicating terrorism will be counterproductive not
just for the region but for the international community as a
whole. They need sincere help. Punishment or criticism alone will
only worsen the situation.

We also hope that President Megawati Soekarnoputri will return
from Phnom Penh with increased self-confidence, because her vow
to crack down on terrorism is not only supported by her own
people, but also by the country's closest neighbors.

She will have no more pretexts to avoid fighting terrorism,
and will only have herself to blame if her government remains
incapable of restoring security in Indonesia.