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)