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.