TEXT: REPS. GILMAN, BEREUTER LETTER ON APEC LEADERS' MEETING
(Calls for site change, statements on Mahathir policies)Washington -- Two prominent Congressional leaders have urged President Clinton to explore the possibility of a different venue for the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' meeting in Kuala Lumpur, or to speak out forcefully about the economic policies and human rights practices of Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir.
In a letter dated October 16, Representative Benjamin A. Gilman (Republican - New York), Chairman of the House International Relations Committee, and Representative Doug Bereuter (Republican - Nebraska), Chairman of the House Asia and Pacific Subcommittee, said they remain strongly supportive of APEC and its efforts to reduce trade barriers across the Pacific region and the need to hold periodic meetings at the head-of-state level.
"In our view," they wrote, "continued scapegoating by the Prime Minister against foreign speculators, Jews, and now his former finance minister, is highly offensive and totally counter productive to the much-needed efforts at reform of the political and financial system inside his own country. His rhetoric and his policies are at variance with the principles under which APEC was founded and cannot be ignored or downplayed without compromising the integrity of all of its members states."
"The ongoing Asian crisis is already slowing the growth of U.S. exports to the region," they said. "At stake is continued American leadership on human rights, the continued growth of the U.S. economy as well as the future prosperity of scores of large American companies, not to speak of millions of American jobs that are already coming under pressure from a flood of foreign goods and products from countries in recession in east Asia and Russia."
Following is the text of the letter:
(begin text)
The Honorable William J. Clinton
The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500Dear Mr. President:
We write to you to express our concerns regarding the November 17-18 meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, APEC, meeting in Malaysia. In particular, we fear that your attendance at this summit might be perceived as an endorsement of the anti-free market measures put in place by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed and the arbitrary arrest, detention and beating of former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
In our view, continued scapegoating by the Prime Minister against foreign speculators, Jews, and now his former finance minister, is highly offensive and totally counter productive to the much-needed efforts at reform of the political and financial system inside his own country. His rhetoric and his policies are at variance with the principles under which APEC was founded and cannot be ignored or downplayed without compromising the integrity of all of its members states.
While we remain strongly supportive of APEC and the efforts of its member countries to reduce tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers across the Pacific region and the need to continue to hold periodic meetings at the head of state level for all member states, we would urge you to explore the possibility of a different venue for the upcoming November meeting. If this is not possible, we would urge you to speak out forcefully about the economic policies and human rights practices of Prime Minister Mahathir. In our view, it would be incumbent on all participants to ensure that a date is set for the lifting of capital controls and that the government ensure that Anwar's civil rights are fully protected.
Anwar is highly respected by Asian leaders and finance ministers throughout the world. Yet, on September 2, Mahathir fired Anwar as Finance Minister and eighteen days later he had him arrested on trumped up charges of sexual misconduct, a crime in Muslim Malaysia. Anwar has been beaten severely while in detention and his trial is scheduled to begin before the opening of the APEC summit meeting.
It is our understanding that Malaysia suffers from many of the same ills as its neighbors including a lack of financial sector transparency which exacerbates poor lending practices. In addition, Malaysia has discriminated against foreign investments, arbitrarily limited foreign ownership of companies, and maintained or erected new barriers to American exports. Its continued protection of its domestic industries and its efforts to bar foreign trading of its currency make it less than a role model for its fellow APEC members who need to embrace policies specifically designed to reverse -- and not accelerate -- Asia's economic decline.
As you have pointed out in several speeches, the ongoing Asian crisis is already slowing the growth of U.S. exports to the region, including aircraft and agriculture products in particular. At stake is continued American leadership on human rights, the continued growth of the U.S. economy as well as the future prosperity of scores of large American companies, not to speak of millions of American jobs that are already coming under pressure from a flood of foreign goods and products from countries in recession in east Asia and Russia.
Thank you for your attention on this important issue.
Sincerely,
Benjamin A. Gilman
Chairman
House International Relations CommitteeDoug Bereuter
Chairman
Asia and Pacific Subcommittee(end text)
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