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)