About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

5 Hum. Rts. Defender 1 (1996)

handle is hein.journals/hurighdef5 and id is 1 raw text is: Humn lights io lander THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALIS Diplomacy Training Program March 1996, Volume 5, Number 1 Seqnel to Asia-Enrope Sunmit: A Hnman Rights Agenda for Asia Jose Ramos-Horta* When leaders of the fifteen nation the European Union (EU) met w their East Asian counterparts Bangkok on 1-2 March, human rig and environment were not on official agenda. But they inevita surfaced, as governments of region could not ignore Asian pu opinion demanding the inclusion human rights and environment the agenda of all political and tr meetings in the region. The November 1995 Asia-Pac Economic Conference meeting Osaka was preceded by a three- parallel gathering in Kyoto of several hundred labour lead- ers and human rights and environment advocates from the region demanding that these issues be addressed by the APEC leaders. Likewise, more than one hundred non gove mental organisations (NGOs) ga ered before the Asia-Europe sum to discuss issues likely to be shun by the Heads of State. The people Asia, after all are the victims human rights abuses and are see their cities, villages and for destroyed by a collusion of multi ionals and local elites. Human rights are not Western inv tions. For thousands of years, c cepts of human rights and jus have been articulated in the tea ings of the major Eastern philos hies and religions. Asian elites reject universality of human rig democracy and the rule of law pretend that these are Europ impositions are giving too m s of ith in hts the bly the blic of on ade ific in lay credit to the Europeans. They betray the rich Asian catalogue of values that is deeply enshrined in the teach- ings of Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism. The Western leaders who gathered in Bangkok feared accusations of lectur- ing the Asians on democracy and human rights. They should not have been fearful. Asians have fought and died for these values for centuries, against European colonists, against Japanese occupation and now against their own tyrants, often far worse than the former colonial powers. standing and encouragement by the EU. Outside ASEAN, two countries that stand out as appalling human rights violators are China and Burma. The Burmese people have suffered for too long under a brutal military olig- archy and have shown enormous courage and determination in the fight for democracy. The EU must resolutely support the democratic forces in Burma under the leadership of the Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Of the ASEAN partners, ... governments of the region could not Indonesia undoubtedly has the ignore Asian public opinion demanding worst human rights record. For more than 30 years Indonesia the inclusion of human rights and has been ruled by a ruthless dic- environment on the agenda ... tator, trained by the Japanese imperial army during the war rn- At the same time, however, European years when Indonesians mistakenly ~th- countries must approach human welcomed their Japanese liberat- mit rights in the Asian region examining ors. Even in the most volatile years ried the situation in each country individ- of the Cold War, Indonesia faced no s of ually, and offering real support to external threat to its territorial of countries undergoing democratic integrity. In fact, since independence, irg changes. it has on three occasions embarked ~sts on land grabbing adventures against -tat- Of the seven ASEAN partners, the Malaysia, West New Guinea and East Philippines is consolidating democ- Tirnor. The only serious threats that ratic changes, with some difficulty, Indonesia has faced have been of 'en and the economy is improving. This domestic nature and of the regimes 'on- undermines the official Asian argum- own making. lice ent that democracy and development Lch- cannot go hand in hand. Thailand has Indonesia is now ripe for change. op- returned to civilian rule and though it The next two to five years will see vho has a long way to go must be com- Indonesia in a period of transition. hts, mended for the strides it has made. This transition will be peaceful if and The two countries deserve encour- Suharto acts with the wisdom of ean agement and support from the West. Frederick De Klerk, or will be uch Malaysia, too, deserves some under- marked by bloodshed if he clings to

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most