Germany's Fischer "may not go" to ASEAN gathering

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer is still hoping to make it to the two-day ASEAN meeting but could be held up at a make-or-break European Union (E.U.) summit which has opened Thursday in Nice, France. "Fischer is still trying to go to Laos," said a German diplomat. But with the E.U. encounter expected to run well into Sunday, chances that Fischer would make it to Vientiane in time for the ASEAN meeting are looking slim.

Fischer was one of three E.U. foreign ministers - the others being from Luxembourg and Belgium - who were planning to attend the ASEAN ministerial talks. The other 12 E.U. countries said earlier that they will either be represented by deputy ministers or senior diplomats. The ASEAN region is especially angered at French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine's decision to stay away. Vedrine, whose country holds the current E.U. "presidency," will be represented by Charles Josselin, his deputy minister for cooperation and development. ASEAN is also disappointed that both E.U. External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten and foreign policy chief Javier Solana are not attending. E.U. diplomats adamantly deny that the poor ministerial turn-out is either linked to Myanmar's presence there or a lack of interest in the region.

But Yangoon's poor human rights record is expected to dominate the agenda of the Vientiane meeeting. The Laos gathering is viewed as especially important because E.U. and ASEAN ministers have not met for region-to-region talks since Myanmar joined the club of Southeast Asian nations in 1997.

(dpa)