Wahono heads Indonesian delegation to Manila's AIPO

Wahono heads Indonesian delegation to Manila's AIPO

JAKARTA (JP): Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR)
Wahono is heading the Indonesian delegation to the general
assembly of the ASEAN Inter Parliamentary Organization (AIPO) in
Manila next week.

Wahono reported to President Soeharto yesterday about the
preparations of the Indonesian delegation concerning the talks in
the Philippine capital scheduled for Sept. 19-24.

Five of the six members of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) are represented in AIPO which was formed 17 years
ago. They are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and
Thailand. Brunei will send representatives.

Wahono told reporters that the AIPO delegations will also be
holding talks with parliamentarians from Australia, New Zealand,
Papua New Guinea, Canada, China, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam,
Cambodia and Laos who have been invited to attend as observers.

Philippine President Fidel Ramos is scheduled to give a
keynote address. The heads of the ASEAN governments will also be
represented at the gathering. Soeharto's speech will be read by
Wahono.

The 15th AIPO general assembly will review the political and
security climates of the region and the world, and also the
economic condition and the prospect of regional cooperation
programs.

There will also be a declaration on the environment and the
protection of wild life, whose draft had already been worked on
during a preparatory meeting in Jakarta last month.

The Indonesian delegation to the conference will comprise 15
DPR members. Besides Wahono, the delegation will also include
Tjokong Tarigan Sibero, Zamharir, Amilia Lun Hadaitullah,
Fahruddin and Andi Matalata.

Responding to a question, Wahono said that the question of
East Timor will not be raised at the general assembly but he
anticipates that journalists might question the issue during the
press conference.

"We're prepared to deal with the questions," he said.

The East Timor issue threatened to sour relations between
Indonesia and the Philippines early this year when Manila hosted
an international conference on East Timor that included speakers
who are vocally anti-Indonesia. (emb)