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HEADLINES
Badly stung Soros admits he's not so on top of things
Alleged liar impeached in Anwar case
Inconclusive meet leaves Asean divided 
Market joins Asian values in poverty of ideas


NEWS

Badly stung Soros admits he's not so on top of things
"I THINK I've lost it. I'm like an overaged ballet dancer. I just haven't got
what it takes.'' 
This comes from the man who reputedly made US$1billion from laying siege to
sterling in 1992, forcing the pound out of the European Exchange Rate
Mechanism (ERM), whose musings on Russia was seen as a catalyst for Moscow's
default and who is blamed by Malaysia for the economic crisis confronting
Asia. 
In an interview with the Financial Times yesterday, George Soros, 68-year-old
billionaire international financier, was in a self-effacing mood. 
He told the paper he had not been involved in day-to-day running of his funds
since 1989, preferring instead to act as "chairman and coach''. 
"I used to be much more on top of things,'' he told the paper as he appeared
inLondon to promote his book The Global Crisis of Capitalism. 
"I used to follow it on a daily basis, and it was done very much with
emotions, rather than just contemplation -- feeling the pain and the elation
of winning and losing. It requires a total engagement.'' 
Earlier Mr Soros predicted to reporters that the euro would rival the dollar
as a global reserve currency and suggested that the worst of the global
economic crisis had passed. 
"Euro will be treated as a reserve currency by the other countries,'' he said
in a show of support for the fledgling currency that is to be launched on Jan
1. Mr Soros also voiced his new-found optimism that the world had seen the
worst of the economic crisis. 
"I think the shock is probably now behind us,'' he told the London newspaper. 
However, he lent his weight to widely-held predictions of economic slowdown
around the world. 
"I think we are in a bear market because of deflationary pressures,'' he
said,noting that "one third of the world is in recession and there is an over-
supply of almost all commodities''. Mr Soros has been badly stung by the
world's economic crisis. 
He lost US$2 billion (S$3.3 billion) in Russia's economic meltdown. -- AFP 
BUSINESS TIMES - DEC 09, 98

Alleged liar impeached in Anwar case
STORY: KUALA LUMPUR: Lawyers defending jailed politician Anwar Ibrahim
yesterday won a victory when the judge permitted them to put a key prosecution
witness in the dock for allegedly lying to the court. 
The lawyers made a formal request for impeaching Azizan Abu Bakar, who claimed
last week that he was repeatedly sodomised by Anwar. 
On Monday, Azizan appeared to contradict himself when he said during cross-
examination that he never had sex with the ousted deputy prime minister. 
If the defence can prove Azizan is lying, it could seriously dent the
prosecution's case against Anwar and its goal of punishing him for 10 charges
of corruption and illegal sex. Azizan's accusations form the basis for the
bulk of the prosecution case. 
Anwar's trial was adjourned last night while the defence marshals documents
and witnesses to prove that Azizan was giving false evidence in court. 
Anwar is being tried now on four counts of corruption. He will face trial at a
later date for one more charge of corruption and five of illegal sex acts. 
The victory for Anwar could prove short-lived because the judge said the
defence request was fraught with problems. 
``In my opinion, this application is riddled with more breaches than with
compliance to the law relating to impeachment,'' Judge Augustine Paul said. 
``Be that as it may, in the interests of justice and in allowing the defence
to defend the accused and the accused every opportunity to defend himself, I
allow the impeachment proceedings,'' he said. 
``We are very happy. If we win, it will have quite a major bearing on this
case,'' Christopher Fernando, a senior defence lawyer, said. 
Earlier, Judge Paul told defence lawyers that if they wished to impeach the
witness, they should stop cross-examining him and try to prove instead that he
was lying. 
``It appears illogical to obtain all the answers and then conduct the
impeachment,'' Judge Paul told defence counsel Gurbachan Singh. ``That's
legally untenable.'' 
Mr Gurbachan was questioning Azizan, who testified last week that Anwar made
him a ``homosexual slave'' while he was a driver for Anwar's wife in 1992. 
When Azizan appeared to contradict himself on Monday by saying he never had
sex with Anwar, defence lawyers began discussing the possibility of launching
separate proceedings to prove the witness was lying under oath. 
Azizan has signed two statements retracting his allegations on separate
occasions, but testified in court that he was coerced to do so both times. 
The prosecutors said they needed time to study documents that could be used by
Anwar's lawyers to prove that Azizan's testimony should be disregarded by the
court because he had repeatedly contradicted himself. 
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad fired Anwar on 2 September, accusing him of
being morally unfit for office. The sacking led to demands for political
reforms and massive anti-government protests. - Agencies 
HONG KONG STANDARD - DEC 10, 98

Inconclusive meet leaves Asean divided 
HANOI -- Senior Asean officials remained divided on admitting Cambodia into
the group now that they have to defer the final decision to their leaders when
they meet next week. 
In the meantime, Vietnam, host to next week's Sixth Asean Summit, has prepared
a meeting room for the nine Asean leaders but has provided seating for ten,
apparently in preparation for Cambodia's entry. Cambodia is invited to attend
the meeting as an observer. 
Lobbying was intense as the new Cambodian government sent an advance team on
Wednesday in a final bid to get a membership during the Hanoi summit. 
Cambodia's Foreign Ministry permanent secretary Dr Chem Widhya, who leads the
eight-member team, reiterated that Cambodia has all the ingredients to become
an Asean member. 
The issue of timing for Cambodia's membership has been further complicated
with Phnom Penh being returned its seat in the United Nations on Monday after
15 months and the pending political bickering between Hun Sen and Prince
Norodom Ranariddh. 
As of Wednesday, Philippine undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Lauro Baja said
that Singapore's representatives in the Asean senior officials' meeting had
said their foreign minister, S Jayakumar, had telephonically discussed the
issue with his Asean counterparts. 
Yet he said no consensus had been reached and it was likely that they would
leave the matter to the foreign ministers who will meet on Saturday. 
Cambodia has certain political and technical conditions it has to fulfil
before it can be given membership, he said, adding that Cambodia had political
developments but it still needed to satisfy some technical aspects. 
Foreign ministers will submit a report on their consultation to leaders for
determination, Baja said. ''So at the end, it will be political
determination,'' he said. 
Philippines Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon said in Manila on Wednesday that
Cambodia being given back its seat at the United Nations will not make
acceptance in Asean any speedier. 
''Asean has always dealt with the Hun Sen government but this is a membership
issue, not a representation issue,'' Siazon said. 
Apart from the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand have reportedly expressed
caution over Cambodia's entry. 
The rest of the grouping, Brunei, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Burma and
Vietnam, support Cambodia's bid. 
Siazon said he was ''open'' to the issue of accepting Cambodia although he
said it would be dealt with as a whole. 
''The burden of proof lies on those who favour Cambodia's entry. You have to
convince me,'' Siazon said, noting that he was not ''an anti-Cambodia''
advocate. 
Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan said in Bangkok that even though Asean still
held a diversified opinion, the foreign ministers will discuss the timing
issue during their dinner meeting in Hanoi tomorrow. 
BY MARISA CHIMPRABHA 
The Nation, DEC 10, 98

Habibie says schooling abroad weakens patriotism
JAKARTA -- Indonesian President Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie asked the education
minister on Tuesday to study the possibility of banning Indonesian students
from seeking pre-college education abroad. 
The German-educated Habibie said he was seeking the ban to prevent a weakening
of the spirit of nationalism, Information Minister Yunus Yosfiah said,
according to the Antara news agency. 
Yosfiah said the government had noticed a tendency of weakening nationalism
among school-age children. 
Children who spent most of their school years abroad would not have an
''adequate knowledge'' of the problems of their own countries, added Yosfiah. 
Habibie himself has been educated in Germany and spent 1955 through 1965 in
German universities, where he took a doctorate in aeronautical engineering. He
continued to work in Germany with the Messerschmitt Boelkow-Blohm Gmbh
aircraft industry until 1974. 
His eldest son, Ilham Habibie, born in 1963, did all of his schooling abroad,
while his second son, Thareq, briefly returned to Jakarta to complete high
school before going back to Germany for higher education. 
The president has often told foreign journalists he attributes his
appreciation of democracy and human rights to his years in Germany. 
Agence France-Presse
THE NATION - DEC 10, 98

EDITORIAL: A reason to celebrate human rights pact
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson is urging the world to
celebrate Thursday's 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights because ''we need to renew the vision''. Her concern was aroused after
she was struck by findings that only seven per cent of the world is aware of
the declaration. The birthday bash, she said, is an opportunity to educate
more people about what is arguably the most important document in the history
of humankind. 
Surely Robinson can think of a better reason. But then, perhaps not. After 50
years, we are still nowhere near achieving the great ideals espoused by the
declaration. Thousands continue to disappear in the middle of the night and
millions are still going to bed hungry. Worse, the pre-World War II ethnic
cleansing which spurred the development of the declaration still stalks the
world -- witness Bosnia, Rwanda, Cambodia, East Timor, to name a few. 
It was in 1948 that French jurist Rene Cassin coined what was then, and still
is, the revolutionary claim that ''all people are born free and equal in
dignity and rights''. But Cassin knew that such high values proclaimed in the
document will represent little more than writing in the sand if words are not
backed by action. And action, especially mobilising the political will to
punish human rights abusers, has been woefully lacking over the past half
century. 
But despite the gloom and doom, there is indeed a very good reason to
celebrate, and this came unexpectedly from London. Last month, Britain's
highest court, in a case involving former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet,
ruled that sovereign immunity did not apply to acts of genocide, torture and
terrorism. As a result, Pinochet, who is presently under arrest, could face
extradition to Spain for crimes against humanity. 
While Pinochet may yet go home a free man under a deal stitched between
Britain and Chile, the court decision will nevertheless have a profound impact
on international human rights laws: no longer can dictators abuse human rights
at will and with impunity. 
The British court ruling came in the wake of the International Criminal Court
(ICC), formed at a meeting by 120 countries in Rome last June. The court,
expected to begin work in the first decade of the new millennium, is empowered
to prosecute those who have committed war crimes, genocide and acts of
aggression and terrorism. With this, we now have an instrument which can put
some teeth into the Universal Declaration. 
No doubt, both the Pinochet decision and the creation of the ICC signify the
coming of a new world order where the rule of law will hopefully replace the
law of the jungle. A new global judicial system is indeed in the making. For
too long, the world has been under the mercy of a few powerful nations and
being held hostage by tin-pot dictators. Now, all countries -- big and small,
rich and poor, powerful and weak -- will be equal before the international
law. 
Not only do dictators have reasons to fear; even leaders of democracies will
not be immune to prosecution. Take, for example, the invasion of Panama
ordered by US President George Bush, where in the bid to kidnap strongman
Manuel Noriega, some 3,000 people were killed, or the massacre of thousands of
withdrawing Iraqis along the 100-km stretch of the ''Highway of Death'' from
Kuwait to Basra during the Gulf War. 
Moreover, atrocities committed by the victorious parties will no longer be
conveniently overlooked. The Nuremburg and Tokyo war crimes tribunals are
often criticised precisely because the Allies imposed their own brand of
justice on them. 
On this 50th anniversary, we have trepidly taken a few steps forward in making
the Universal Declaration a living document, one which has real meaning and
relevance to all global citizens, especially those who suffer from human
rights violations. 
The abusers of human rights cannot claim ignorance or that they are not
''educated'' about the declaration. For them, the message is clear: If they
commit human rights violations, they will be brought to face justice, no
matter where they are. 
And that should be good enough reason for the world to celebrate. 
The Nation - DEC 10, 98

Market joins Asian values in poverty of ideas
As the economic crisis takes its toll in Asia, no more are ''Asian values''
used to defend authoritarianism. Instead, free-market reforms are now being
foisted on the region in the name of democracy, writes Steven Gan. 
Malaysia's former No 2, Anwar Ibrahim, showed the ugly face of ''Asian
values'' when he walked into the courtroom last September with a black eye. He
was beaten unconscious after he was arrested, he said. Not surprisingly, in
the ensuing pro-reform protests, anger was directed against the man who
ordered Anwar's arrest: Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. 
Much has changed since Mahathir sought to lead the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (Asean) to challenge the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Last year, Mahathir called for an overhaul of the declaration on the occasion
of the document's 50th anniversary. This was despite more than 140 countries,
including Asean members, reaffirming the ''indivisibility, interdependence and
universality'' of human rights at the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights in
Vienna. 
But the support for the declaration among some Asian countries has always
been, at best, lukewarm. For example, Singapore's representative to the Vienna
conference warned that ''universal recognition of the ideal of human rights
can be harmful if universalism is used to mask the reality of diversity''. The
Chinese delegate was more blunt. ''Individuals,'' he said, ''must put state's
rights before their own.'' 
No doubt, Mahathir and his ilk are fond of portraying the battle on human
rights as one in which individual rights are pitted against collective rights.
''Asian values'', argued Mahathir, means putting emphasis on the traditional
notions of family and society above that of the individual. Thus, the role of
the government, he said, should be to ensure stability in order to promote
economic growth. 
But authoritarian leaders in Asia are now beating a path in retreat. Gone are
the days when ''Asian values'' once used to justify authoritarianism. The
human rights pendulum has now swung to the other extreme: in place of the
authoritarians are the free marketeers whose ideology is being touted by
powerful institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 
No doubt, the economic crisis which rippled from Thailand last year has
brought a wind of change to a region once hailed as the ''mother of tiger
economies''. In May, Indonesian dictator Suharto was ousted. Others, including
Mahathir, have since faced mounting challenges to their iron rule. 
And in countries where there is relative democracy, new leaders have emerged.
Among them: South Korea's Kim Dae-jung, Thailand's Chuan Leekpai and the
Philippines' Joseph Estrada. They are joined by Indonesia's B J Habibie who
has donned the democratic mantle to ensure his own political survival. 
Hardest hit 
Yet, the wind of political change has also brought a wave of economic
destruction. At least 20 million people across the region are expected to be
left jobless this year. 
As always, the poor are the hardest hit. Indonesia, which has previously made
some gains in combatting poverty, has more than half of its 260 million
population now living under the official poverty line. The tiger economies
which once boasted about joining the industrialised world in the new
millennium, are now hard pressed to even feed their own people. 
No wonder, newly minted Asian leaders known for their democratic leaning are
increasingly coming under heavy fire. Take South Korean Kim. An ardent critic
of ''Asian values'', Kim has consistently argued that Asia cannot survive
without democracy. But since becoming president early this year, Kim has
strictly followed the IMF's free-market formula. The austerity measures
include massive layoffs, bailing out ailing banks, privatising state
enterprises and cutting welfare to the poor. 
The toll of the IMF's bitter medicine has been high. An estimated two million
people in South Korea are out of work. Some were driven to suicides to end
their shame, no doubt victims of the ''Asian value'' where men are considered
breadwinners. The frequency of such suicides have prompted the authorities to
smear arches of inner-city bridges in Seoul with a thick layer of grease to
prevent the desperate from jumping to their deaths. 
Increasingly, many Asians are asking: Where are the human rights of the poor?
And why should the poor be forced to pay for the mistakes of the rich? After
all, it was the rich who had imprudently borrowed money to feed their lavish
lifestyles. 
The free market, said Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Noam
Chomsky, is ''socialism'' for the rich. ''The public pays the costs and the
rich get the benefits -- markets for the poor and plenty of state protection
for the rich.'' And debts, he said, are also socialised. ''Under this system
of socialism for the rich that we call free enterprise, nobody expects the
banks to have to pay for the bad loans. That's your job and my job.'' 
Blind allegiance 
Over the past decade, leaders in this region have argued that ''Asian values''
were the foundation of the economic ''miracle''. In so doing, they brazenly
challenged the Western belief that free markets and political liberalism are
inextricably linked. 
Buoyed by the financial meltdown, however, free marketeers are taking the
offensive against such Asian-values economies. But having seen the misery of
the austerity measures, Asians are not about to unquestionably accept that
capitalism goes hand in glove with democracy. And their defenders are not the
usual band of ''Asian values'' apologists: they include no less than India's
Amartya Sen, winner of this year's Nobel Prize for Economics. 
In a 1997 article, ''Human Rights and Asian Values: What Lee Kuan Yew and Le
Peng don't understand about Asia'', Sen wrote that one ''cannot really take
the high economic growth of China or South Korea in Asia as 'proof positive'
that authoritarianism does better in promoting economic growth -- any more
than we can draw the opposite conclusion on the basis of the fact that
Botswana, the fastest-growing African country (and one of the fastest growing
countries in the world), has been an oasis of democracy in that unhappy
continent''. Much depends on the precise circumstances, said Sen. 
He then took a swipe at the ''Asian values'' advocates. Sen argued that while
Chinese sage Confucius, the appointed ''guru'' of ''Asian values'', is not
averse to practical caution and tact, he does not forgo the need to oppose a
bad government. ''Confucius did not recommend blind allegiance to the state.
When Zilu asks him how to serve a prince, Confucius replies: 'Tell him the
truth, even if it offends him'.'' 
As Asia confronts a new phase of globalisation spearheaded by the free
marketeers, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is needed, now more than
ever, to help protect and advance the interests of the poor. And in so doing,
emphasis should not be limited to the declaration's civil and political
rights. 
The 50th anniversary of Universal Declaration, said Special Representative of
the UN Secretary-General for Human Rights in Cambodia Thomas Hammarberg,
should be a time to correct the misunderstanding about human rights that they
are confined to freedom of speech and protection against torture. 
''The Universal Declaration established that human rights include the right to
social security, the right to a reasonable living standard, the right to food,
the right to education, the right to housing, the right to health, the right
to work and the right to rest and leisure,'' he said. 
When the declaration was adopted in 1948, a number of Western countries led by
US President Franklin Roosevelt, had opposed the inclusion of economic and
social rights in the document. ''Freedom from want,'' he said, should not be
seen as a human right. Some would even argue that this is not part of
''Western values''. 
Fifty years later, the debate has come full circle. And perhaps the region
which gave birth to ''Asian values'' could now take the lead in reopening the
human rights debate: that human rights is not only about freedom from fear,
but also freedom from want. 
The Nation - DEC 10, 98

Khmer Rouge leaders in Thai custody : report
posted at 17:00 hrs (Bangkok time) 
BANGKOK, Dec 9 -- The top three surviving Khmer Rouge leaders Ta Mok, Khieu
Samphan and Nuon Chea have been detained by Thai authorities at the request of
the United States, a report said Wednesday. 
The three are being held in Sisaket province near the Cambodian border pending
a war crimes trial, the Far Eastern Economic Review quoted sources close to
the leaders as saying in its latest edition due to be published Thursday. 
The sources said US officials had asked the Thais to detain the three while
preparations were made for an international war crimes tribunal. 
Thai military intelligence in Bangkok denied the report. 
''We can reaffirm that the news is totally untrue, there are no Khmer Rouge
leaders on Thai territory,'' a spokesman said. 
A US embassy spokesman refused to comment, referring questions to Thai
authorities. 
However, he said the United States would like to see the three leaders brought
before an international war crimes tribunal for their alleged role in the
''killing fields'' genocide which killed up to two million Cambodians in the
1970s. 
Ta Mok, Khmer Rouge military commander, political leader Khieu Samphan and
ideologue Nuon Chea were deserted by remaining Khmer Rouge fighters who
defected to the government at the weekend. 
Cambodian officials told AFP Tuesday the Cambodian government was expecting to
allow the three former leaders to live free in the jungle until their deaths. 
They added the international community had yet to demand the leaders face
trial for crimes against humanity during the Khmer Rouge rule over Cambodia
from 1975 to 1979. 
Reviled Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in April without ever coming to trial.
(AFP)
THE NATION - DEC 10, 98