ASEAN Foreign Ministers Condemn IS For Its Violence And Brutality

By Nur Ashikin Abdul Aziz KOTA KINABALU (Sabah, Malaysia), Jan 28 (Bernama) -- ASEAN Foreign Ministers Wednesday condemned the violence and brutality committed by the so-called Islamic State (IS) extremist group, particularly the recent apparent barbaric beheading of a Japanese citizen. Speaking on behalf of his ASEAN counterparts at the end of their retreat here, Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said the ministers also renewed their commitment to combating violent extremism, including through the Global Movement of Moderates (GMM). GMM is an idea mooted by Prime Minister Najib Razak during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2010, a new approach in international relations and foreign policy with the main goal of applying perspectives and frameworks of moderation to realise world peace and harmony. Anifah said as proposed by the prime minister at the 25th ASEAN Summit in November 2014, Malaysia would convene an ASEAN Special Ministerial Meeting on Radicalism and Extremism. "The meeting is scheduled to take place back-to-back with the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime in early October 2015," he added at the news conference after chairing the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat. According to AFP reports, the IS group recently claimed they had executed security contractor, Haruna Yukawa after Japan failed to pay a US$200 million ransom within a 72-hour deadline. Another Japanese national, freelance journalist, Kenji Goto is still in captive and IS has demanded for the release of a woman death-row prisoner in Jordan, for his release. According to a statement distributed to the media, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers also underlined the need to bring all perpetrators of the violent act to justice and call for the release of all hostages. "We express support for, and solidarity with the government and people of Japan and commend her commitment to counter terrorism and violent extremism wherever they occur," the statement said. The ministers also renewed their commitment to the full implementation of the ASEAN Convention on Counter Terrorism, the ASEAN Comprehensive Plan of Action on Counter Terrorism, and the relevant provisions of international law and the United Nations (UN) Charter. "We will work with the international community in its fight against terrorism, extremism and radicalism and to address its root causes, including through the promotion of the Global Movement of Moderates," the statement said. The foreign ministers' retreat, which ended Wednesday was the first in a series of ASEAN meetings under Malaysia's chairmanship of ASEAN this year. Malaysia assumed the ASEAN chairmanship on Jan 1, taking over from Myanmar. ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) groups Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. -- BERNAMA