Hassan urges caution in UN reform debate

Hassan urges caution in UN reform debate

Primastuti Handayani, The Jakarta Post, Beijing

Indonesia should not rush into taking its stance in the
increasingly heated debate on the United Nations (UN) reforms, as
voting would only be taking place later next month, Minister of
Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said here on Thursday.

Speaking before a meeting between President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao at the Great Hall
of the People, Hassan said that members of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including Indonesia, were very
disappointed with the ongoing debate on UN reform.

"The real point of the extension of the UN security council
has now become the main topic of discussion, and thus is likely
holding up other problems within the context of UN reform," said
Hassan, who just returned from attending the ASEAN Ministerial
Meeting in Vientiane early this week.

"ASEAN has demanded a comprehensive process (of reform)."

"We (ASEAN) really hope that we will not be pushed to take
sides either with Japan or China in the debate."

The proposal on UN reforms came from Secretary-General Kofi
Annan, who has served for over eight years, following corruption
allegations within the body, including the US$20 billion UN-Iraq
Oil for Food Program and cases involving UN peacekeepers trading
food for sex with young girls in several missions around the
world.

He had said that the UN was in desperate need of cleaning up
to improve its cumbersome bureaucracy and to resolve its
outstanding problems.

To promote the UN reforms prior to the General Assembly summit
in September in New York from Sept. 14 to Sept. 16, Annan
appointed noted Indonesian diplomat and former foreign minister
Ali Alatas, along with other envoys including Irish Foreign
Minister Dermot Ahern, Mozambique's former president Joaquin
Chissano and former president of Mexico Ernesto Zedillo, to help
advance his reforms.

The scheduled voting on UN reform this week was rescheduled as
the Group of Four (G-4) of India, Japan, Germany and Brazil still
had to consult with the African Union and the European Union on
Aug. 4 or Aug. 5.

"I don't yet know whether there will be a concession, as the
meeting in London on July 25 did not reach a conclusion," Hassan
said.

Also, he said, the UN Secretary-General's office would be on
holiday next month, forcing the voting process to be scheduled
for late August.

"Therefore, we don't want the decision-making process on the
UN security council issue to be made in a rush."

Separately, presidential spokesman on international affairs
Dino P. Djalal briefed reporters saying that during Susilo and
Hu's meetings, both countries also discussed each other's stance
on the UN reforms.

China, Dino said, also supported Indonesia's candidacy in
gaining a non-permanent seat on the reformed UN Security Council
for the 2007-2008 period.

Hassan also said that the East Asian Summit in Kuala Lumpur
would also involve Australia, New Zealand and India, apart from
China, Japan and South Korea.