Summit shuns Afghanistan issue

Summit shuns Afghanistan issue

Jalil Hamid, Reuters, Bandar Seri Begawan

Asian leaders began arriving on Sunday for a summit in the Islamic sultanate of Brunei as strains start to show over support for the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan.

The centerpiece of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit is a declaration of support for the war on terror and a commitment to coordinate ASEAN's own anti-terrorist efforts.

In the declaration, expected to be adopted later on Sunday, the leaders "unequivocally condemn in strongest terms of the horrifying attacks on Washington, New York and Pennsylvania."

But they rejected any moves to link "terrorism with any religion and race", according to a draft obtained by Reuters.

The group is divided over the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan and the declaration, as expected, ducked any reference to it.

"Some ASEAN members are strongly aligned to the U.S. and prefer to keep silent, while for instance Malaysia and Indonesia have already voiced their opposition to military action," a Malaysian official was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.

The official said some countries were wary of offending Washington.

Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, and mostly Muslim Malaysia have already said the bombing of Afghanistan should stop, and will seek backing within ASEAN.

"We urge for humanitarian pause. We have to be attentive to the problem of civilian sufferings," Makarim Wibisono, head of foreign and economic relations at Indonesian Foreign Ministry told Reuters.

The 10-member ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

ASEAN begins its two-day annual summit on Monday, along with the leaders of neighbors China, Japan and Korea, as civilian casualties in Afghanistan mounted and with the Islamic holy month of Ramadhan less than two weeks away.

ASEAN Secretary-General Rodolfo Severino told Reuters that the organisation's message was that it opposed terrorism in all its forms and was determined to take measures to combat it.

The declaration would contain no reference to Afghanistan. "What is happening in Afghanistan is not part of the declaration because the declaration that the leaders may issue will be about ASEAN cooperation in combating (terrorism), especially in this area," Severino said.

Indonesia's Wibisono said Afghanistan would be discussed on the sidelines as the continued U.S. bombings could alienate moderate Muslim states and jeopardise the global coalition against terrorism.

"The issue is being handled through the lobbies but not at the meeting proper. It will not be reflected in the final document," Wibisono said.

"This question of sensitivity to that issue is essential because it will (be needed to) guarantee the cohesiveness of an international coalition to combat terrorism," said Wibisono.

ASEAN's broad commitment to Washington's campaign against terrorism echoes the pledge these same leaders made at the bigger Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Shanghai last month, but its focus will be how to counter cross-border militancy in the region.