Philippine court bans East Timor conference

Philippine court bans East Timor conference

JAKARTA (JP): A Philippine court issued an order yesterday
barring the hosting of a conference on East Timor in Manila later
this month which has been the subject of Indonesian protest.

The order, obtained by an ally of President Fidel Ramos, put
a 20-day hold on the event which was due to start in a suburban
state university on May 31, Agence France Press (AFP) reported.

The court found "sufficient in form and substance" a petition
from the Philippines-Indonesia Friendship Society which charged
that the meeting would violate a treaty binding Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members to respect each other's
territorial integrity.

The Philippines and Indonesia, along with Brunei, Malaysia,
Singapore and Thailand are members of ASEAN.

Indonesia has protested against the conference, saying that it
was providing a platform for people who opposed East Timor's
integration with Indonesia.

Ramos had earlier ruled out barring the conference, saying
that it would go against the Philippine constitution but he had
moved to bar the participation of some foreigners.

Jose Laurel, head of the friendship society, said in a
statement released by the presidential palace that while the
conference organizers might invoke freedom of speech, the
government had the right to "protect itself against unlawful
conduct and against incitements to commit unlawful acts."

Laurel is a member of the Laurel political clan which has
since allied itself with Ramos.

Conference organizers said they were studying the order to see
what action they could take.

News of the court order was immediately hailed here yesterday
by the government.

"We rejoice to hear the news," Irawan Abidin, the director of
information at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. "We
appreciate the effort of the Philippine government and the
Philippine-Indonesia Society."

"We hope the court will definitely ban the conference .. for
good," he said citing that the move would be in keeping with the
spirit of ASEAN solidarity.

Asked if the organizers decided to move the venue, Irawan said
that "as long as it is not held in an ASEAN or other friendly
country, then we have no objection."

Protest

Meanwhile, a group of Indonesian activists paid a visit to the
Philippine embassy in Jakarta yesterday, criticizing Manila for
sacrificing its democracy to placate Jakarta.

Scholar George Aditjondro and human rights campaigner H.J.C.
Princen led a five-person delegation to the embassy to present a
a statement calling on the Philippines to lift the ban against
foreign participation in the East Timor conference.

"We had always thought the Philippines has a better democratic
tradition than the rest of Southeast Asia," the delegation said
in a statement. "However, we no longer subscribe to this view."

Both George and Princen have been invited to address the
seminar and are planning to go there this weekend despite
Manila's ban against foreign participation.

They said in the statement that "it was a lie" to say that the
conference was initiated by people who opposed East Timor's
integration with Indonesia, because there are 12 international
organizations in all which are sponsoring the event.

"Given the international dimensions of the sponsors, the ban
by the Philippine government preventing non-Filipinos from taking
part in the conference has hurt the Philippines credibility in
international relations."

They also deplored the impression that the Philippines could
trade the fate of East Timor people for that of the Moslem Moro
tribe, which is fighting for autonomy in southern Philippines.

Indonesian Moslem leaders had earlier threatened to convene a
conference on Moro, bringing Moslem leaders from all over the
world, if Manila failed to prevent the East Timor conference from
taking place. (emb/pwn)