Indonesia refuses to discuss E. Timor at ASEAN-EU meet
Indonesia refuses to discuss E. Timor at ASEAN-EU meet
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia yesterday warned the European Union it
would not discuss what it considers "extraneous issues" such as
East Timor in next week's meeting between ministers of the EU and
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
"We are ready to confer on the issue anywhere as long as it's
the correct forum," the foreign ministry's Director General for
Political Affairs Izhar Ibrahim said.
"The correct forum is the tripartite talks under the auspices
of the United Nations Secretary General," Izhar added.
EU and ASEAN foreign ministers are scheduled to hold their
12th dialog meeting in Singapore on Feb. 13 and Feb. 14. The two-
day meeting will also mark the 20th anniversary of the EU-ASEAN
dialog relationship.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
During an informal meeting of ASEAN heads of state here in
November, leaders issued a joint statement warning relations
could be jeopardized if the EU pursued extraneous issues in the
cooperation framework.
Indonesia maintains issues like East Timor should be discussed
bilaterally or within the framework of the UN.
The former Portuguese colony of East Timor was integrated as
part of Indonesia in 1976. However, the UN and a majority of
European countries still recognize Lisbon as the administrative
power there.
Indonesian officials have directly blamed Portugal for
bringing such issues into the EU-ASEAN framework.
Izhar warned forcing the issue could be detrimental to the
Singapore meeting.
"ASEAN leaders have agreed not to discuss East Timor (in
dialog framework), so the ASEAN ministers have to abide by that
decision," he told Antara yesterday.
"If Portugal forces it, then the meeting could very well
break-up because all the ASEAN countries will refuse to discuss
it," he warned.
He maintained that the East Timor was irrelevant in the
context of EU-ASEAN dialog relations.
During the 11th EU-ASEAN dialog meeting in Germany in 1994,
issues of human rights and East Timor were also skirted.
Izhar yesterday denied reports Indonesia would walk out of the
meeting if the issue was introduced.
"That's not true," he said. "Indonesia has made no such
threat, but we do oppose it, that's true."
Unnamed Singapore officials were yesterday quoted as saying
Indonesia had made such a threat.
"The Indonesians have told us as co-chairmen that if the East
Timor issue is raised by the Portuguese, they would walk out,"
said the official as reported by Reuters in Singapore.
Apart from the sensitive issue of East Timor, the question of
Myanmar's impending entry into ASEAN is another thorny topic.
The EU has strongly criticized ASEAN for maintaining a policy
of constructive engagement with Yangon whom it accuses of
suppressing pro-democracy movements in the country.
European countries along with the United States are advocating
an isolationist policy towards Yangon.
ASEAN officials are expected to push issues of development
cooperation, investment and trade in the dialog.
The EU is ASEAN's third largest trading partner with about
US$99.5 billion in 1995.
Closer people-to-people contact and mapping out the parameters
for the dialog relationship in the future is also expected to
feature in the agenda.
The EU-ASEAN meeting will be followed up by a one-day meeting
of the Asia-Europe ministers Meeting (ASEM) which brings together
foreign minister from Japan, Korea and China with their ASEAN and
EU counterparts. (mds)