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Britain says ASEM to touch on human



Britain says ASEM to touch on human rights 
11:57 a.m. Mar 13, 1998 Eastern 
LONDON, March 13 (Reuters) - Britain signalled on Friday that it wants human
rights on the agenda when Asian and European countries meet in London for a
summit on trade and investment early next month. 

Answering a parliamentary question on the ASEM meeting on April 3 and 4,
Foreign Office minister Derek Fatchett said: 

``We look forward to a wide-ranging, informal and productive political
discussion at ASEM 2 and expect to touch on human rights.'' 

He said countries attending the meeting had agreed that political dialogue
was one of the key dimensions of ASEM, which groups the 15 European Union
countries and 10 Asian nations. 

Indonesia's President Suharto, a frequent target for human rights critics in
Europe, is among the leaders invited to attend. China is expected to be
represented by its new prime minister. 

Burma, another target of human rights critics, will not be attending the
meeting, which is expected to be dominated by the economic turmoil in Asia.
^REUTERS@