Southeast Asian MPs vow to fight terrorism

Southeast Asian MPs vow to fight terrorism

Ben Rowse, Agence France-Presse, Hanoi

Southeast Asian parliamentarians pledged to fight terrorism on
Wednesday on the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, but
said they were opposed to unprovoked military action against
Iraq.

In a joint communique adopted at the end of the 23rd general
assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization (AIPO) in
the Vietnamese capital, legislators said further strides were
needed to tackle terrorism.

"The Assembly reiterated ASEAN's commitment to countering
terrorist acts in all forms and manifestations in accordance with
the United Nations Charter and the fundamental principles of
international law," it said.

However, the parliamentarians stressed that counter-terrorism
policies had to go hand in hand with "measures aimed at tackling
the issue of poverty, inequality and discrimination".

Critics of the U.S.-led war against terrorism have accused
Washington and its allies of ignoring the fundamental problems of
global inequality and perceived injustices, which they say prompt
people to turn to violence.

The regional parliamentarians also reiterated their opposition
to "any unilateral decision to launch unjustified and unprovoked
military actions on the state of Iraq".

"The Assembly emphasized the urgent need for a peaceful
solution to this matter and called upon the United Nations to
continue to be engaged with this issue with a view to achieving
durable peace in the region."

They urged the international community to address the
"humanitarian dimension of suffering and tragedies, emanating
from the prolonged sanctions on Iraq" and said the United Nations
should reconsider the embargo.

The United States, which says Iraq is harboring weapons of
mass destruction, has stepped up efforts to seek foreign backing
for a strike against Baghdad by promising to give diplomacy one
last chance.

However, its hardline stance has met strong international
opposition, including from Russia, France, Germany and across the
Arab world.

The AIPO delegates also recognized the "serious threat posed
by transnational crimes to peace, security and stability" in the
region and vowed to strengthen cooperation to tackle drug
production, piracy and the trafficking of women and children.

Among other initiatives, they said negotiations to resolve
territorial disputes in the South China Sea needed to continue
unabated.

Four ASEAN nations -- Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and
Vietnam -- as well as China and Taiwan have laid claims to the
potentially oil-rich Spratly islands, which lie along vital
shipping lanes.

Historical foes Vietnam and China are also vying for the
Paracels, another chain in the South China Sea lying 300
kilometers (180 miles) north of the Spratlys.

Turning to economic matters, the parliamentarians stressed the
vulnerability of developing nations to the adverse effects of
globalization and the need for free and fair trade.

The communique urged AIPO member parliaments to establish a
legal framework to complement the tariff-slashing ASEAN Free
Trade Agreement (AFTA), which it described as the "engine room
for regional economic development".

The meeting of AIPO, which opened on Monday, comprises the
eight states with parliaments from the 10-member Association of
Southeast Asian Nations -- Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The other two ASEAN members, Brunei and Myanmar, have no
legislatures but attended the meeting as dialogue partners.

Nine countries and delegations outside the grouping, including
Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, Japan and New
Zealand, were invited as observers.