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.