OIC to highlight RI diplomacy

OIC to highlight RI diplomacy

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia, the world's largest Moslem country,
will assume the chairmanship of the Organization of Islamic
Conference (OIC) this year, maintaining its active participation
in international diplomacy pursued in recent years.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas in his traditional
media briefing at the start of each year yesterday said the OIC
chair and the conference's ministerial meeting which Indonesia
will host in later in the year, are some of the highlights of
Indonesia's diplomatic activities this year.

Alatas said Indonesia's proposal to host the 24th OIC
ministerial meeting at the last meeting in Conakry, Guinea, last
December, was accepted by acclamation.

The chairing of OIC's Ministerial Meeting marks another
milestone in Indonesian foreign policy after previously presiding
over the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in 1994
and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in 1992-1995.

"The acceptance of Indonesia as the host of the 24th
Ministerial Meeting is an acknowledgment of Indonesia's positive
role in international politics," said Alatas in his written
statement.

The OIC was formed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in May 1971. Its
52-nation membership is made up of countries who are an Islamic
state or, like Indonesia, whose population is made up of a
majority of Moslems. It is comprised of mostly Middle East and
African states. Indonesia, along with Afghanistan, Bangladesh,
Brunei, Malaysia and Pakistan make up the Asian members.

Indonesia has attached great importance to the OIC which along
with NAM strives for the betterment of developing countries.

Among Indonesia's contributions within the OIC was chairing
the OIC Ministerial Committee of Six to facilitate a peaceful
solution to the separatist Moro Moslem minority in the southern
Philippines.

Important events

Though not as busy as 1995, which Alatas called "the year most
filled with international conferences and meetings", he said 1996
will also see its share of important events.

Among the international events Indonesia is scheduled to
participate in is the Asian-European Summit in Bangkok in March.

In April Indonesia will participate in the Ninth United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development in Midrant, South
Africa. The theme of the conference will be "Promoting Growth and
Sustainable Development in a Globalizing and Liberalizing World
Economy."

In July, Indonesia will host the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ministerial Meeting which will be followed
by a meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum and a series of post-
ministerial conferences with the group's major trading partners.

President Soeharto is expected to attend three summit meetings
this year. One is the Asian-European summit in Bangkok in March
and the other both in November: the World Food Summit in Rome and
the APEC leaders meeting in Subic Bay, the Philippines.

In December, Soeharto will host an informal meeting of ASEAN
heads of state.

According to Alatas apart from the seven members of ASEAN --
Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand
and Vietnam -- Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar will attend. He added
that ASEAN is also contemplating inviting East Asian countries
such as China to the informal summit.

Speaking on the events of the past year, Alatas noted that
despite encouraging progress, some very worrying developments
transpired at the United Nations in 1995.

These included what he perceived as a slowing down of the
revitalization and restructuring of the world body, along with
the increasing use of force by the UN Security Council.

"There is a tendency for the big countries to use their
influence in the Security Council to force their intentions
through," Alatas said, pointing to the imposing of economic
sanctions on a number of states.

Indonesia with fellow members of NAM were coordinating efforts
to ensure a more transparent and accountable UN, along with the
abstention of the veto use in the Security Council, he said.

Other discouraging events included France's complete
nonchalance in the face of international protests against
continued nuclear testing in the South Pacific. (mds)