President Habibie skips APEC summit

President Habibie skips APEC summit

JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie will not attend this
weekend's summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
in Auckland, in what is seen as a snub to host New Zealand for
its criticism of Indonesia's handling of the situation in East
Timor.

"The meeting is not significant enough for the President to be
present," Minister/State Secretary Muladi said when announcing
Habibie's decision not to travel to New Zealand for the summit.

Habibie has decided to stay in the country to devote his
attention to preparing his accountability speech for the People's
Consultative Assembly, Muladi said.

This will be the first time Indonesia will not be represented
by its president since APEC began holding an annual summit in
1993. Indonesia played host to the summit in 1994, and Habibie
attended last year's summit in Kuala Lumpur.

Habibie had planned to attend the Sept. 11 to Sept. 12
gathering, with media executives already receiving invitations to
join the President's entourage. Along with his decision not to
attend the summit, aides say the President has also canceled
planned out-of-town trips for the next several days, including
one to Surakarta, Central Java.

Muladi said Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Finance
Ginandjar Kartasasmita would lead the Indonesian delegation to
the APEC summit.

Habibie has come under strong criticism at home for events in
East Timor.

Under pressure from the military, he declared martial law in
East Timor on Tuesday in spite of opposition from his Cabinet and
the House of Representatives.

Had he attended the APEC summit, Habibie could have expected a
barrage of criticism from foreign leaders, with the violence in
East Timor expected to be the main topic of discussion on the
sidelines of the summit.

New Zealand has been vocal in criticizing Indonesia's handling
of the situation in East Timor and leads the chorus of nations
calling for an international peacekeeping force to stop the
violence in the territory.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Don McKinnon is organizing an
emergency informal meeting with other foreign ministers for
Wednesday night to discuss the East Timor issue.

Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas will travel
to Auckland later this week and will miss the Wednesday night
meeting. (emb)