Ministers see no ASEAN role in Indonesia crisis

Ministers see no ASEAN role in Indonesia crisis

HANOI (Reuters): The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is unlikely to play a role in resolving the crisis in Indonesia because of its policy of non-interference, group foreign ministers said on Sunday.

Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien said he and his ASEAN counterparts would discuss the situation in Indonesia, the group's largest and most volatile member, in meetings in Hanoi this week.

But other ministers stressed the bloc's principle of non- interference in the internal affairs of member states.

Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, who faces imminent impeachment for alleged corruption and incompetence, has threatened to declare a state of emergency.

"We will exchange our views on the situation," Nien told reporters ahead of a dinner with his ASEAN counterparts.

However, Singapore Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ow Chin Hock disagreed, saying: "No, I don't think we should discuss specific issues. This is an ASEAN principle, we do not interfere with domestic issues."

Asked if there would be discussions on Indonesia, Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said: "We'll see."

However, when asked what ASEAN would do if the crisis worsened, he replied: "I think all of us are concerned, but at the moment we don't see any particular role that ASEAN will play in that particular matter."

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Indonesia was a worry. "Indonesia is an important part of ASEAN," he added. "Anything that happens in Indonesia, of course it is of concern to us."

Indonesian Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab canceled his attendance at the foreign ministers' meeting due to the upheavals in Jakarta, where bomb blasts on Sunday underscored the potential for chaos.

Wahid has threatened to call a state of emergency, dissolve parliament and call snap elections if legislators go ahead with their threat to have him removed from office.

He has also warned that his millions of fanatical supporters may take matters into their own hands unless parliament backs down.