Soeharto to open human rights workshop

Soeharto to open human rights workshop

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto will open a national workshop
on human rights on Monday which will discuss the ratification of
existing conventions and determine the scale of priority in
handling human rights.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas said yesterday the
workshop will "direct discussions on human rights towards a more
practical and constructive approach...instead of a more political
approach."

The three-day workshop, a follow-up of the first one held in
1991, will be opened by President Soeharto at Istana Merdeka.

A number of government and non-government speakers are
scheduled to give presentations at the workshop, among them
outspoken rights advocate T. Mulya Lubis, political scientist
Miriam Budiardjo and legislator Aisyah Amini.

Notable speakers from abroad will include John Pace from the
UN Human Rights Center in Geneva, Brian Burdekin from the
Australian Human Rights Commission and Quisumbing from the United
Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) regional office.

At the end of the workshop, a memorandum of understanding on
technical cooperation of human rights will be signed between the
Indonesian government and the UN Human Rights Center.

Meanwhile Alatas said he will open another workshop on
"Managing Potential Conflict in the South China Sea" in
Bukittingi, West Sumatra, on Wednesday.

Alatas said Indonesia's hosting of this workshop is motivated
by a desire to turn the potential of conflict in the area into
cooperation.

He explained that the workshop is part of Indonesia's
initiative to reduce conflict in the South China Sea caused by
overlapping territorial claims.

Six countries -- Malaysia, China, Brunei, the Philippines,
Vietnam and Taiwan lay claim to the Spratly Islands located in
the South China Sea.

Despite playing host for the fifth time, Alatas pointed out
that the workshop is not meant to resolve the conflict directly
and that the participants will all be attending in a private
capacity.

"Indonesia does not propose any recipes for that (solution),"
he said, adding that the workshop is meant as part of preventive
diplomacy and confidence building measures.(mds)