NGOs plan to hold rival Asia-African Summit events

NGOs plan to hold rival Asia-African Summit events

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are preparing to hold a
series of conferences to mark the golden jubilee of the
Asian-African Summit later this month, as the government has
refused to let them participate in the summit.

The meetings will be held in Jakarta, Bandung, Garut and
Yogyakarta, involving at least 15 foreign and local NGOs, before
delegates from more than 100 countries convene the three-day
summit until April 24, in Jakarta and Bandung.

Bonnie Setiawan, a member of the NGOs coalition, said on
Tuesday the conferences would discuss "important, substantive
issues neglected by the government" in the summit.

"Local and foreign participants will discuss, among other
things, poverty and interfaith issues," said Bonnie, director of
the Institute for Global Justice (IGJ).

Chris Wangkay of the International NGO Forum on Indonesian
Development (Infid) said poverty and interfaith issues were more
relevant for discussion by leaders of Asian and African countries
than their political or economic partnerships.

"Most countries in Asia and Africa are poor. They should be
able to talk about attempts to get debt relief or reduction," he
argued.

Erpan Karyadi of the Agrarian Reform Consortium said the NGOs
also planned to stage rallies outside the Jakarta Convention
Center (JCC) on April 22 and April 23, where the Summit will take
place. One day later, the international event will continue in
Bandung to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1955 Asia-
Africa Conference.

"We hope the leaders will listen to our concerns," Erpan said
about the planned rallies.

The NGOs accused the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of shutting
them out, with respect to the summit.

"During the 1955 conference, the government involved non-
governmental organizations, which later led to the freedom of
most of the participants," Bonnie said.

Participants in the 1955 event included some liberation groups
from countries in Asia and Africa, such as Algeria, which later
gained independence.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirajuda has said NGOs are
free to join events organized in conjunction with the summit to
discuss women's, youth and environmental issues.

He said the government hopes the summit will boost cooperation
among participating countries.

The summit is expected to produce a declaration on a strategic
partnership between countries from both continents, a ministers'
statement consisting of action plans for the partnership and a
statement involving an early warning system for tsunamis for
countries across the Indian Ocean

As many as 55 heads of states have confirmed their attendance
at the summit. The government has invited 105 countries,
including 70 heads of states from Asia and Africa.