This time I didnt read an article, but I watched a 6 min movie on Youtube about the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. First I searched a bit about that Tsunami, about the cause of a tsunami, the consequences, what about the disaster relief operation and how to avoid a tsunami . In the movie you first see that there was a very big earthquake that hits whole Indonesia. You saw a lot of people sitting down on the ground hiding for buildings how were trembling. Everybody knew that this wasnt a normal earthquake, this was more The rest of the movie you see the impact of the tsunami and thousands of people who are in danger. Now I want it to know how they can make better tsunami-prediction systems.
I have based my second text on a movie that inspires me already for months. And I would like to know if there were already good detection systems or tsunami-prediction systems. The text begins with the statement that some marine earthquakes generate tsunamis and others not. After the big tsunami in Indonesia and Thailand the whole world was warned for the impact of such a disaster. But the situation in Japan makes clear that we havent learned anything! There is still a lot of work to do, based on the article a new earthquake-monitor system developed by Andrew Newman and Jaime Convers 2 profs on the Georgia Institute of Technology can make the difference! For the investigation of tsunamis there are big differences of earthquakes, they can be divided into two sorts. Deep ones, those below 20km. Shallow ones, those above 20km. The biggest problem with the investigation of tsunamis is deciding which is which. Once the investigators know the data, an earthquakes depth can be worked out! But that takes a lot of time. A good example of this was the recent Japanese quake. All the investigators thought the earthquake had taken place 83km down. But the latest measures say the dept was actually 30km. In my opinion that is still in the class of the deep ones, those below 20km. so that earthquake could still be put in a safe class. But the Japanese earthquake was so powerful that the normal rules couldnt be used! The secret of the new method is that depth changes an earthquakes character in ways other than just its tsunami-generating trend. The system Dr Newman and Mr Convers have developed taps into hundreds of seismic monitoring stations around the world. With a bit of luck the system should be introduced in the summer, supported by alarms around the world the tsunami risk would be signaled all over the world in less than 7 minutes. It will then be up to the local authorities to evacuate as soon as possible.
Blog1_Prat_L_East-timor 10 years on still waiting for justice
Laurent Prat
2MAR1
Business English 1B
Blog1_Prat_L_East-timor 10 years on still waiting for justice
1/3 SUMMARY
My article about East-Timor tells me something more about Vannessa Hearman. Vennessa tells us a story about the Timorese president and peace laureate Jose Ramos Horta who clarifies that there will be no international tribunal. And that on the 10-year anniversary of the United Nations-supervised Ballot in East-Timor! 10years ago the people of East-Timor voted for independence from Indonesia. The vote revealed that 78.5% wanted independence. But as Indonesia protested that the ballot had been rigged, its military and their militia friends damaged and destroyed 70% of public buildings, houses and infrastructure. By that moment many Timorese were deported on trucks and ships to West Timor. Talking about justice is so bad for the business between Indonesia and East-Timor that they are scared to cooperate.
2/3 OWN OPINION
What Im reading here is totally unacceptable. How is it possible that a country in 2011 may not decide if they want to be independent yes or non. In my opinion there is just one truth during the whole text and thats the opinion of Vennessa Hearman. Vennessa worked in East-Timor from 2000 to 2002 as an aid worker for the United Nations. She also worked as United Nations interpreter. The text is written by her, its her doctoral thesis about the Indonesian mass killings of 1965 till 1966. In her text she analyzes 2 questions: what about the accountability in East-Timor and what about the Human rights? During the text theres totally no amelioration. I totally dont understand how its still possible to neglect such a country. Okay Belgium is a progressive country based on industry sectors and we have since almost 300 days no government. But East-Timor is a poor country. Therere a lot of big countrys that can help Timor!
How is it possible that a country like Indonesia can be so powerful. East-Timor is a beautiful country with more than a million people. In late 1999, about 70% of the economic infrastructure of East Timor has been destroyed by Indonesian troops and anti-independence militias, and 260,000 people fled westward. From 2002 to 2005, an international program led by the United Nations, manned by civilian advisers, 5,000 peacekeepers (8,000 at peak) and 1,300 police officers, substantially reconstructed the infrastructure. But 5year after the international program of the United nations the population tries to develop their environment and the country. But in vain... there are not enough ways and means to bring East-Timor to a higher level and the independence. But they still keep fighting for it, no matter what the Indies pretend.
Indias growth rate rises to 8,8% and its their fastest rate for more than two years. India is the second fastest-growing behind China.
Indias statistics agency said that the strong industrial and mining output had helped boost the growth rate. Industrial output rose more than 12%, and mining and quarrying jumped nearly 9%. Services including hotels and banking also did well, with output up nearly 10%. Services account for 55% of Indias economy, while industry makes up around 25% of output.
The annual growth has causes also inflation. The inflation rate topped 11% and the strong performance in the economy is expected to encourage policymakers to continue raising interest rates.
Growth to slow: economists expect further rises and many expect them to slow Indias economic growth in the coming months. A director at Trusted Sources said that he dont expect this growth rate to be as strong over the next two quarters. India is less dependent on developed countries than the others. The director general of the Confederation of Indian Industry agreed that domestic demand was important for Indias economy.
Opinion
I will give a bit more information about the economy of India. India is the tenth-largest economy in the world and is also one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Despite impressive economic growth during recent decades, India continues to face a number of socio-economic challenges. During the next four decades, Indias economy is expected to grow at an average of 8%, making the nation potentially the worlds fastest growing major economy until 2050. That was a bit more information how the economy will be in the future.
Today in Thailand, political tension is reaching a critical pitch, as the country awaits the outcome of a court ruling to decide whether Thailands deposed leader Thaksin Shinawatra should lose his fortune for alleged corruption. There is some violent political unrest that has exposed deep divisions in Thai society. The government hopes that there is a return of stability after the decision whether leader Thaksin should lose his fortune or not.
4000 police held a crowd control exercise in front of Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, who is also responsible for security, to show they are ready to quell any disturbance following the verdict.
Thaksin Shinawatra was popular with the poor and won two landslide election victories. But he was accused of massive corruption. Thats what this court case is all about. The judges have seen a lot of documents showing how he abused his power to gather a fortune.Hes about to lose around two billion US dollars.
In Thailand, its just a fear of violence thats transfixing the country.
Opinion
Again I found an interesting video fragment of Thailand. You see theres a lot of violence and there are a lot of people who destroy cars on the streets. In April they destroyed the Ministers car. The inhabitants are also aggressive to the police. The police had to use tear gas to defend them against the aggressive crowd. Especially the Red T-shirt leaders made a total mess of the country. There are a lot of demonstrations where the Red T-shirt leaders are presented.
The trip was again very pleasant! Up to the last but one country India!
Vietnams governing Communist Party has begun its five-yearly congress by admitting its programme of economic growth has strayed off course. Its necessary to speed up modernisation!
Choosing new leaders for the party is the main task of the congress. A new central committee with 200 members were selected at the end of the nine day gathering. The nation must renew the growth model and restructure the economy to speed industrialisation and modernisation with fast and tenable development. In 2020, their strategy is that their country will become an industrialised nation.
Some important people, who were present at the congress, said all different things. Truong Tan Sang, whos expected to become the new president, told delegates corruption and mismanagement must be stamped out. Another person, the BBCs Nga Pham, said the Communist Party is determined to retain its monopoly on power, but will need strong, energetic and reform minded people to help them. She also said that little change in policy is expected at the meeting, but the new leadership will have to find ways to renew old socialist ideas.
The conclusion was a more skilled workforce, better infrastructure and more efficient state enterprises.
Opinion
This article is actually an article which Im not informed of or never heard of it before. But what I do know is that Vietnam has to deal with inflation of 12%. The economy is fluctuating, confidence in the currency is low and Vietnams deficit is growing. In short time, Vietnam has moved too far too fast and is now in financial problems. The opinions of inhabitants in Vietnam are divided. Some of them are optimistic, and others are pessimistic. I think big reforms are needed to rethink the way things are done to cut out waste and generate jobs, and to give the sector more room to grow.
Indonesia has rich and national resources, including oil, gas, minerals and palm oil. The exports of Indonesia only count for 25% of Indonesias economic rote. That is a problem because Indonesia has the fourth largest population of any country and its still growing (with 3,5% this year).
The global Markets Economist (Fauzi Ichsan) said that Indonesia is lucky, because it has the biggest economy in Asean and also the biggest domestic marketing in Asean. On top of that is Indonesia less effective by the global crisis. The Minister of Trade, Mari Pangestu, said that hopefully they have the foundation to be able to take off again, maybe in another two years, to go back on track for a 6 to 7% or even a higher rate of growth.
Women in Indonesia play an important role in society. The Muslim women are quite free! Indonesia can even be compared with China and India , even when they have a little higher growth. But the stories and processes in Indonesia are similar with these in China and India
Opinion
I found a very interesting video fragment about the economy in Indonesia. When I first watched the video, I practically knew everything of Indonesias economy. I thought Indonesia would still have a lot of damage and debts because of the Tsunami, but it wasnt like that at all. After I saw this video fragment on Youtube, my image of Indonesia was different than I thought. I liked this country more than East Timor, because of its more impressive buildings and streets.
We had a great time and hope to see even more during the next stop!
East Timor wants to become an Asean member as soon as possible and has applied to join the South East Asian regional grouping, Asean.On his trip to Indonesia, foreign Minister Zacarias da Costa signed the application.
There was a lot of criticism when people find out that East Timor has applied to join Asean. The people said that Asean has already enough problems and the problems would be bigger if East Timor was a member. The chance that East Timor will become a member of Asean is very small.
Indonesias foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, he also received an application for membership, said East Timor was geographically, politically and economically linked to south East Asias future, but other members dont think like that at al.
Opinion
They also said in the article that the Asean group should focus on helping poorer nations which are already members of Asean like Burma, Cambodia and Lao. I think thats true, because South East Asian has to think of their country and the economy and if they are adding another poor country to its economic burden. I also understand why South East Asian didnt except East Timor. I read that in 1999, about 70% of the economic infrastructure of East Timor was destroyed by Indonesian troops. And the economy is still at the bottom. Its nice to know things like that about the country we were on trip!
Saudi Arabia is our last stop of the voyage. This country is situated in Asia and the Middle-East, itconsists for the greater part of desert and there is a lot of oil present. The two important holy cities for the Islamitic people are situated in Saudi Arabia, Mecca and Medina.
The Zamzam water is taken from a well in the holy city of Mecca. The well is called Zamzam and containds arsenics for the Muslims. It may not exported to other countries. This water has a special meaning for pilgrims in Mecca. In the UK they sell Zamzam water, but it isnt water of the holy well. Tests of BBC showed the water of the well was poisoned, but it wasnt true. A correct test confirmed that the water is qualified for consumption. After these problems and misunderstandings, the embassy of Saudi Arabia made it clear: any writing on a bottle of water suggesting that it comes from the Zamzam source is not proof that the water is genuine. They also concludedthat the water of the holy well may still not be utilized for consumption.
So there was a misunderstanding with the term of the water in the UK. There wasnt any link with the holy well, thats why it doesnt contain any arsenics. Maybe the government of Saudi Arabia has to take a patent on the name zamzam, of course it may not possible to introduce this rule all over the world. So as you can see in this example, religion is an important subject in this country, I also noticed this during my trip.
So weve done our route from East-Timor to Saudi Arabia and Ive had a great time! Sofie
The oil prices continue to rise and thats why fuel subsidies will take a larger share of government spending. Because of that there will be less money available for other fiscal projects. Ive chosen this subject, because India will be heavily affected by rising prices. Indias fuel subsidies will increase the budget deficit. Most investors expect that the rising prices will move on, caused by the global economy recovery and the unrest in the Middle-East. Inflation will be the result of the higher oil prices. Economists suggest to reduce the subsidies and the inflation will reduce the consumption.
India has become one of fastest growing economies. Despite of the current poverty, corruption... India is considered as new industrializing country. The rising oil prices arent a stimulation for their economy. The government is looking for solutions, now they give subsidies. I dont think its the best solution. When they invest in more subsidies for the high oil prices, they cant invest in other (possible) important projects. They will, for example, have to economise on infrastructure. More than 60% of the Indian people work in the agricultural area. The industry, like mining, has a lot of potential in India. Thanks to the high level of education grows the services area, especially the IT. So the economy knows a liberalisation since the end of the 20th century and I hope this will continue in a positive way.
Our final stop will be Saudi-Arabia. I had already a great time and hope the last trip will give a surplus value. Greeting Sofie
The fighting that began the 22nd of April has killed already more than 30 people. The domestic politics on each side is probably the reason of the conflict. A meeting between Thailand and Cambodia hadnt solved the problems. Both militaries said they are defending themselves against foreign aggression and blamed each other for starting the fighting. A Thai construction worker wants both sides would talk and stop the fighting. A lot of villages were already attacked and innocent people had to run away from home. But normally the conflict wont lead to full-scale war, Thailand neither Cambodia will expand their territory.
In my opinion I really hope this will not lead to a full-scale war. Wars dont solve problems, but create more difficulties. The reason of this discussion is about the politics, I would propose a meeting between them. They already met, but at that time it didnt have any effect. As long as both countries blame each other, nothing will change. Both parties have to give in! Wars destroy countries, and a few years ago Thailand had already lots of damage due to natural disasters.
I hope there will never be war again, it brings a lot of destitution. People lose their family, their house, their work because of the absent economy...
I liked this trip! Things that I will remember of Thailand are the rough division of the population, the different dialects and the weather types. In the north of this country are a low number of people in contradiction with the south. 90% of the people are locals, beside the official language they speak five different dialects. At last Thailand knows rainy seasons alternating with periods of serious drought.
Now we will go to our last but on stop; India. See you! Sofie
We have just returned from
the final country of our trip, Saudi-Arabia! I hope you enjoyed our stories!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSpR1eWKM4s
Summary:
I found a video fragment of the protests in Bahrain. The country Saudi-Arabia
sends a thousand troops to Bahrain where people are protesting the two century
rule. There are already demonstrations for a month where seven people has been
killed. Communication is important because everybody has to live together and
everybody has to talk to each other. For the opposition its an invasion for
the government its support. The population is scared by the things they see,
they dont want a revolution.
Saudi-Arabia wants to demonstrate to the population of Bahrain, because
they want to prevent a worse situation. The population of Bahrain cant believe
why the soldiers of the same people are firing shots on them. The people of
Saudi-Arabia has a different view on the situation. Washington is trying to
help and to make people change their mind.
Opinion:
Its always a sad situation when there are protests and demonstrations,
when people are disputing. I appreciate the fact that Washington is trying to help both because mostly,
America is one of the villains. I hope that Bahrain and Saudi-Arabia can change
their minds and come to an agreement. I cant understand why people are still
grabbing at weapons, because mostly, the wrong people are dying, the innocent
ones. When you are fully grown, you have to sit together and talk until you
have the right solution.
This article is about torturing maids in Indonesia. Over recent years, a number of cases of abuse of migrant domestic workers have come to light in Saudi Arabia. In this article an Indonesian diplomat has criticized the overturning of a Saudi womans her Indonesian maid. When people get a prison sentence that has been seen as a landmark verdict, there was no example of a torturer being brought to prison. A number of abuses was lighten up, but nobody is doing something about it. Last November a maid was admitted to hospital with broken bones and burns to her face and body. This case received worldwide attention and prompted the Indonesian president to demand justice for her torture. The final conclusion was that there was not enough evidence to judge the Saudi woman. Since the sentence was not recognized and overturned, that means all the tortures are free. There is not enough evidence, so case closed.
Opinion
In my opinion this news fact is unacceptable. The government has to do something about it. I cant believe they just say there is not enough evidence to proof the torture. The maid her body is totally burned and many bones are broken. If that isnt enough evidence, I dont know what they are looking for. Its not because shes just a maid, you can do these horrible things to her. The world organizations must do something about it, because otherwise it wont stop. When people get a sentence to prison, they have to go. They must be punished. I heard already a lot of stories about these countries and I think its about their faith and beliefs they do things like this. These people are doing wrong things and the government isnt say something. In my opinion they must be harder and stronger instead of let people torture others without being punished.
I had a really nice time with my friends, I saw a lot of beautiful things!
India is known for its caste system. It means that the population is divided into different categories and social classifications.This article describes how a couple is stoned to death. The reason why they were stoned is because the man is from a lower social group and he was her teacher. About 200 people tried to kill this couple and eight people are arrested. Even the girl her friends helped to kill her because of this lack of respect for tradition. In the past there have been many cases in India where people have been killed for defying tradition and family honour. The police said that community leaders had warned the couple to break off their relationship, but three days before their deaths, they ran off together.
Opinion
This caste system is a system that already exists for many years. Its a tradition that is very strong in India. When you are in a low caste, its almost impossible to grow up to another caste. They believe in return after dead. When you die, you will return as another person and return in a higher caste. The hardest part of this whole tradition is that some people dont believe in it anymore and others do. These who dont believe it anymore abuse the others. In my opinion they have to respect each other who ever they love. Love somebody is the most intense feeling a person can get. Like many religions and cultures, this would be a forbidden love. I understand that everybody has his own belief and traditions, but Im completely against the fact that they are killed because they love each other. They just could separate them or move to another place, but stoning someone to death is a step too far. I cant believe more than 200 persons killed them. Some powerful leader must say that this tradition isnt true and just abuse people.
This article is another story of countries who fight about the borderline. Its about Cambodia and Thailand. At least six soldiers have been killed, several others are wounded and more than 5000 local people are evacuated. This clash is the worst since February, then 10 people are killed at least. Both countries blamed each other for starting the latest exchange of fighting. Cambodia said the incident began at dawn when the Thailand troops moved in on their territory. They fired rockets and rifles and forced Cambodian troops to retaliate. Because of this invasion, there were three soldiers killed and six wounded. They blame each other that the other started the fire and fights. Because this area is too dangerous, the government evacuated almost 5000 people. The tensions have been high since the day in February. In that month, at least 10 people were killed. The fights are about the borderline. An area high in the mountains. Both countries claim ownership of the surrounding area.
Opinion
In every country there is something wrong. Everywhere you go, you have discussions, fights, bombings and so on. The situation in this article is comparable to the situation in Gaza. These fights wont stop before there is a compromisebetween both countries. The point is that there wont be a solution before an agreement. In my opinion there are too many fights and wars in the world. If they would talk to each other and try to come to an agreement, the world would be much better. You cant solve problems with making war. I understand that its about having the most power and that area, but do the normal people have to suffer? I dont think so. The government has to think about its locals and not about that piece of ground area.
The population of India went up to 1,21 billion in 2011, which is more
than the population in the United States, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan and
Bangladesh together! Its a huge figure but the rapidity is slower than ever
since 1947. China has a population of 1,3 billion people but India is on course
to overtake China! After all these years, there is still a preference for boys
instead of girls, because boys are still the employed earners. Every ten years,
they make an exercise about India and they make a study about the sexes, the
religions, the educations and the professions.
Opinion:
Its amazing how big the population is of India. When you read the
sentence The population in the United States, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan and
Bangladesh together! you are impressed but Im not jealous because Im
convinced of the bad and the unpleasant living circumstances. So many people in
one country, thats extraordinary. Im glad that I live in Belgium because here
the population is normal, just like the living circumstances. I think India
also has to develop more, because boys are equal to girls. Its mean that there
still is a preference for boys!
For our third trip to Vietnam, we stayed in the Southeast Asia. By using the following text I will tell something about the political situation in this country.
The article confirms that Vietnam is still a poor country, thats why the prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung asked the Asian Development Bank in a meeting for more international support. They need assistance to conquer the economic crisis. It will still concede some years to keep up with other countries. The Asian Development Bank congratulated Vietnam alreadyon its entry into the middle-income categories, they are strengthening their position in the global economy. It was the 44th annual meeting and the prime minister of Vietnam guaranteed that the international funds will be used for the right purposes and with the highest effectiveness.
I used a site of the latest news and information about Vietnam:
I hope the political and economical situation in Vietnam find a stabilization. This country had already a lot of bad reminders, like the Vietnam War. Just as in Indonesia, an increasing economy has to be positive for the poorest people too.The communistic situation isnt noticeable today but still visible; there are many flags presented with a hammer and reaping-hook, in the streets are speaker boxes for propaganda... The number of speakers has reduced, in the beginning of the 90s speakers were present in every living room. Since Russia stopped their financial support, Vietnam became a communism with a global market. In the country is a lot of business, remarkable was the fact that people are doing well. The inhabitants are happier, everybody has a television, fridge... Many times people think there is a difference between the North and the South, but we didnt experience that phenomenon.
Our next flight is to Thailand, Im very curious and would like to stay a while over there! Greeting Sofie
After we went to East-Timor, we made a tour in Indonesia. The Republic of Indonesia is a country in the Southeast of Asia.This country is the fourth most populouswith over 238 million people. Unfortunately I hadnt enough time to stay in several cities.
So last week Ive been there and in the first three months of 2011 the economy increased with 6,5%. Several economists had forecasted this phenomenon, because of the high investments of companies and the growth in consumption. The goal of the Indonesian government is to reach an expansion of 6,4% in 2011. But the inflation in fuel and food could be the only reason to miss that goal. The government continues the allowances to maintain the rising prices.
On the site of the BBC I found this article about the economy of Indonesia:
Given that Indonesia is a founding member of the ASEAN and a member of the G-20 major economies, I searched an articles about the economy nowadays. The abbreviation ASEAN stands for Association of Southeast Asian Nations, this organisation works towards cooperation between ten countries located in the Southeast of Asia. The G-20 is an organisation of the European Union, where twenty different countries are working together for a better financial system. Since 2004 Indonesia recovered from the economic crisis and has presently a period of rapid economic growth.
I can conclude its absolutely positive that this country recovered the economic crisis, nowadays their economy is going very well. This country is very large and there is also a lot of poverty, thats why I found this article gives a wrong image of Indonesia. I hope the growing economy will be just as much positive for the lower class of the population.
I enjoyed the time we spent in Indonesia, but now we will continue our travel to Vietnam! Sofie
In the world there are a lot of animals, some of them became rare and some of them are with millions. One of the rarest animals of the world and especially in Vietnam is the antelope-like, Saola. Vietnam wants to protect its animals so they want to create a 160 sq/km area in the central province of Quang Nam. Wildlife experts say the reserve could be vital to its survival. Last year, some villagers caught an adult saola to protect it from danger, but shortly afterwards it died. This new project and reserve area could be a home for 50-60 animals. The government also tries to start up education campaigns for villagers not to hunt them. It wouldnt be only good for the animals, but also for the economy and job creations. The locals are living from the Saola, so its necessary to protect the animals from them.
Opinion
In my opinion I completely disagree with the government. The locals are living from these animals otherwise they die or cant survive in this area. The government is going to set up a huge nature reserve so that means people cant build anymore and the industry will be dead in that area. When I would be the decision maker and can choose between building on the economy and starting up a nature reserve, I would probably choose for the economy. I can follow the argument to create jobs in the nature park, but when we would have a look in long terms, the industry would be more efficient and more powerful to create jobs. I agree with the fact that the animals must be protected. Instead of given educational lessons not to hunt these animals to the local people, they have to give the Vietnamese people lessons how to start their own shop or how to survive in another way.
This article is about a suicide bomber who killed 28 praying persons at a mosque. Nobody expected something like this to occur. It happened on a Friday when people where praying. In Indonesia most of the people are Muslims, but the state is secular. This attack happened because of the anger against the police and terrorism fighting. The suicide bomber was sitting on the 3rd row, in the middle of everybody. The man was very angry because high profile militants were arrested. Most of the killed persons were police men. He just wanted to take revenge on the police. In recent years, the government of Indonesia has introduced a combination of new laws, anti-terror training, international co-operation and reintegration measures to tackle militancy.
Opinion
In my opinion there is too much war and aggressiveness in this world. People cant live with different kinds of cultures and religions anymore. They have to be killed. This way of thinking is not the right way to reach something or to convince other people they are right. Many governments try to abandon crime and terrorism in this world, but some extremists always see a chance to do what they want.I agree with most of the governments and world leaders, the most powerful persons in the world must sit together to discuss a better and more safe strategy to bind and stop terrorism in the world. There must be more control all over the world. Its maybe a possibility to control some people before they enter a mosque or church. Every single person deserves a safe place to life. I also think that its important to punish people harder and more than they are doing now. In the western countries the people in jail have a luxury life and they dont want to move again.
This article is about a very small and almost unknown country in the Southeast of Asia. This country exists from 1999. After the fall of Suharto, Indonesia allowed the East Timor people to vote for independence. Before 1999, East Timor was just a part of Indonesia. Since 2002 relations between the two countries were on the mend. This little new country named East Timor wants to be a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Before they can join the membership, they have to proof if their economic interests, democratic development and geopolitical realities. The Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman said he want to look after his neighbour and try to help them, but they have to show their interest. Both countries are participating in an ongoing Commission on Truth and Friendship. Normally the ASEAN would reject countries like Singapore and East Timor because they have a lack of development. Indonesia is looking to East Timor differently, because they believe that the new little country can help them to develop the country.The last argument why Indonesia would say yes to East Timor is if they dont increase political and economic ties with East Timor, China and India will.
Opinion
In my opinion, when a country wants to be free and independent, they must get the opportunity to become autonomous. But before they want to separate, they have to proof if they are strong enough to survive otherwise it will be a hopeless operation. If I have to decide to join or not to join, I would have a lot of criterias they have to pass to join the association. I would compare it to some countries how wants to join Europe. The smaller and more poor countries must proof they want to co-operate and help the other countries. Their political system has to be strong without dictators. In my opinion the new country must be equal to the others otherwise it will fail. They must consider their partnership very well, because when it would fail, it could cost the other countries a lot.
