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)