ASEM peoples forum kicks off in Vietnams capital
HANOI - The fifth ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) People's Forum got underway in the
Vietnamese capital Monday with over 800 delegates from Europe and
Southeast Asia expected to attend.
The forum was officially opened by Vietnams Deputy Prime Minister Vu
Khoan, who said he was convinced that the conference would strengthen
cooperation between European and Asian countries.
Participants in the three-day forum will discuss a range of topics
including Peace and Security, Economic and Social Security, and
Democratization and Peoples' Rights.
Forum attendance has exceeded organizers' expectations, an official said
earlier, revealing that 300 more people had registered than were
envisaged. Journalists are not permitted to take part in the forum's
various workshops but can attend the opening and closing ceremonies.
The forum - held a month before the ASEM 5 meeting where heads of states
from several European and Southeast Asia countries will come together - is
intended to make the process of dialogue between Europe and Asia more
accountable, transparent and open to civil society..
The Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR), a Paris-based human rights
group, earlier criticised the decision to allow Vietnam, which has a
one-party political structure, to host the meeting.
Vietnamese civil society will have no voice at the forum," said VCHR
president Vo Van Ai. The real proponents of civil society - the ordinary
men and woman who are calling for peaceful, democratic development and the
enjoyment of human rights, are subject to intimidation, surveillance, and
arrest in Vietnam today."
Deutsche Presse Agentur - September 6, 2004
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