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SCMP : Top officials reject move to



South China Morning Post
Wednesday  July 22  1998

Top officials reject move to drop policy of non-interference 

DEUTSCHE PRESSE-AGENTUR in Manila 
Top officials yesterday denounced calls for Asean to drop its policy of
non-interference, maintaining that only the Philippines and Thailand backed
such a radical switch.

"Non-interference has always been at the very core of our guidelines," said
Nugroho Wisnamurti, an Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman at the meeting
of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (Asean) standing committee.
"There's no reason to change."

The start of the nine-member Asean's 31st Annual Ministerial Meeting,
hosted by the Philippines, was overshadowed by negative reaction over moves
to motivate members to speak freely and criticise each other.

Lauro Baja, Philippine foreign affairs under-secretary who was chairman of
the senior officials' session, told a news conference the consensus was
against the proposal but it would not immediately be shelved.

"The foreign ministers have greater latitude and freedom of thought than
the senior officials" and will resume the discussions on July 23," he said.

Easing the Asian currency havoc, preventing further nuclear tests,
encouraging honest and fair elections in Cambodia and battling
transnational crime are among the top issues to be tackled during the
meetings until July 29. Mr Baja denied Pakistan would be sending an
emissary to the talks to speak out against the strong statement Asean
planned to issue condemning the series of nuclear tests carried out in May
by the country and rival India.

Pakistan has no links with Asean but India is a dialogue partner and is
carrying on an intense lobbying campaign in a bid to remove the statement
condemning the tests and urging both nations to sign the treaty on
non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and one banning tests "without delay".

In the hopes of opening up Asean to an exchange of views of other members'
affairs, Philippine Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon and Thai Foreign
Minister Surin Pitsuwan have promoted what they called "constructive
intervention".

Both claimed that more critical discussions were essential to ward off
fresh bouts of turmoil resulting from the region's economic crisis and
other touchy issues such as refugees fleeing from Burma and Cambodia.

"The first thing we must do is define intervention," said Nyunt Maung, a
Burmese delegate.

"If it focuses on political issues, it's not all right."

Burma's pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has urged the international
community to back her demand that the country's parliament, elected in
1990, be allowed to convene by August 21.