---------------------------------------------------------- Visit Indonesia Daily News Online HomePage: http://www.indo-news.com/ Please Visit Our Sponsor http://www.indo-news.com/cgi-bin/ads1 ---------------------------------------------------------- July 23, 1999 ASEAN Knows It Faces Democratic, Human Rights Challenges SINGAPORE (AP)--The Association of Southeast Asian Nations knows it must face challenges of democratization and human rights, ASEAN chairman Shanmugam Jayakumar said Friday after a meeting between the group's foreign ministers in Singapore. The statement was rare for ASEAN, whose individual members consider such issues extremely sensitive and often bristle at outside criticism of their democracy and human rights records. Jayakumar, Singapore's foreign minister, said ASEAN must not abandon its core principles of consensus, consultation, and non-interference in members' domestic affairs. "But without abandoning them, how can the organization and its members face new challenges that will have to be confronted by ASEAN?" Jayakumar said. "Challenges such as good governance, challenges such as democratization, human rights and so on?" "These are challenges which ASEAN must face, and face it in a way that doesn't abandon established principles," Jayakumar said. The ASEAN chairman, who is to hand over chairmanship to Thailand's Surin Pitsuwan Saturday, was speaking to reporters after the first round of a two-day ASEAN foreign ministers' conference. ASEAN includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 24 Jul 1999 jam 07:17:05 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
