ASEAN SCOUTS MEET IN JAKARTA

Jakarta, Oct. 16 (ANTARA) - Some 1,500 scouts from Southeast Asian nations are participating in a Conference of ASEAN Scouts at the Cibubur Scout Camp in East Jakarta from October 16 to 18, 2008.

The participants consist of 1,200 Indonesian scouts and 300 scouts from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines and Laos.

Myanmar was absent from the conference.

In a press conference led by Chairman of the Indonesian Scout Movement Azrul Azwar, delegates of Thailand and Cambodia sat side by side and shook hands despite the current border conflict between their countries.

"Every scout is a brother," said a Thai scout identified as Olarn. Chey Chap, a Cambodian scout, said there was no conflict between the two countries' scouts.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Adhyaksa Dault said peace should always prevail in the ASEAN (Association of the Southeast Asian Nations) region.

The friendly ties between the Cambodian and Thai scout delegations proved that there was no problem in the region, he said.

The minister also hoped that the conference could yield a recommendation calling for the preservation of peace in the ASEAN region.

Azrul Azwar was at the meeting elected chairman of the ASEAN Scout Association for Regional Cooperation.

Following the conference, an ASEAN Scout Jamboree will be held at the Cibubur Scout Camp from October 18 to 26.