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.