JAKARTA, May 3 – ASEAN policies are at odds with the needs and desires of the majority of people in Southeast Asia, making urgent the need to advance peoples’ alternatives, said a panel of speakers at this year’s ASEAN Civil Society Conference / ASEAN People’s Forum (ACSC/APF).

Speaking on the “Alternative Solutions for a People-Centered ASEAN in a Global Community” plenary session on the first day of the ACSC/APF, a regional gathering of over 1,000 representatives of NGOs, community-based organizations, and peoples’ groups, the panelists shared thoughts on regional trends, movement building, and ASEAN engagement.

Popular conceptions of the economy as synonymous with the market system, ignoring the state of people’s livelihoods, has created a bias against the poor, argued Dr. Herry Priyono of the University of Indonesia, Jakarta.

“It is time to reinstate the noble status of community development,” He said, offering the concept of a people-centered economic system as his alternative to ASEAN’s prevailing system.

ASEAN’s effort to build a regional community through trade liberalization and economic integration were criticized throughout.  “What we need are fair rules and mechanisms” that create benefits and opportunities for all rather than free trade agreements serving very few, stated Charles Santiago of Malaysia.

Gaps between ASEAN governments’ and peoples’ visions for a regional community were also emphasized.

Encouraging critical examination of internal dynamics within movements for a people-centered ASEAN, and urging expansion of strategic alliances beyond the region, Indonesian human rights activist, Ms. Kamala Chandrakirana, stressed the importance of a people-led community over one created by the spaces and opportunities provided by ASEAN officials.

“We need to be conscious and make strategic steps to grow a grounded regional movement beyond the meeting rooms by building a core constituency of people and communities immediately affected by ASEAN policies and committed to developing a deeper understanding of our interconnectedness,” she said, referring to the hundreds of annual gatherings of ASEAN officials.

Speaking of approaches to ASEAN engagement, Mr. Thun Saray, Executive Director of ADHOC in Cambodia, focused on the improvement of ASEAN mechanisms and institutions.

His list of suggestions included more meaningful government interface meetings with civil society, respect for freedom of expression and the independence of civil society organizations, a stronger regional human rights body, and the mainstreaming of human rights as core values in the region.

Questions and comments from the floor reflected the breadth and diversity of those in attendance, demonstrating concerns for women and children’s rights, spaces for LGBTIQ participation in civil society, and the variety of concerns of disabled people.