Australia confident of RI antiterror cooperation<\/p>\n
Agencies, Canberra<\/p>\n
The man expected to be Indonesia's next president will probably
\nbe even more cooperative than its current leader in combating
\nterrorism in the region, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander
\nDowner said on Friday.<\/p>\n
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono -- the former security minister who
\nis expected to be declared Indonesia's president once vote-
\ncounting for this week's poll is complete -- has a lot of
\naffection for Australia and would do more than President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri, said Downer.<\/p>\n
\"We had a good relationship with President Megawati, but I
\nthink Bambang Yudhoyono is somebody we can work with
\nexceptionally well. He's somebody I know very well,\" Downer said
\nin a radio interview.<\/p>\n
\"Already we've built very successful counterterrorism
\narrangements with the Indonesians. I think we can still do more
\nwith them though,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Canberra and Jakarta have worked closely to fight terror since
\nthe Oct. 12, 2002, Bali bombings killed 202 people, including 88
\nAustralians.<\/p>\n
Yudhoyono, a U.S.-trained former general, has led the fight
\nagainst al-Qaeda-linked extremists in Indonesia, including the
\nJamaah Islamiyah organization, which has steadily targeted
\nIndonesia in recent years.<\/p>\n
The group is blamed for the Bali blasts, and also claimed
\nresponsibility for a suicide bombing of the Australian Embassy in
\nJakarta earlier this month that left nine Indonesians dead.<\/p>\n
The announcement of official election results is slated for
\nOct. 5, but could take place sooner if the vote tallying finishes
\nearlier.<\/p>\n
An increasingly defensive Prime Minister John Howard will
\nformally launch his government's campaign in Brisbane on Sunday
\nto win the Oct. 9 election, fighting a rejuvenated Labor
\nopposition growing more confident by the day.<\/p>\n
With most indicators showing an Australian economy bounding
\nalong at its strongest levels for a generation, inflation in
\ncheck, unemployment at near record lows and a stock market at
\nrecord highs, Howard's conservative coalition should be all but
\nunbeatable.<\/p>\n
But they are trailing in the latest published polling while
\ninternal Labor polling also reportedly shows the opposition,
\nunder an increasingly popular young leader Mark Latham, has
\ninched forward to its best position since the campaign began a
\nmonth ago.<\/p>\n
For the conservative leader, an eight-year career as prime
\nminister now hinges on Sunday's speech, in which he will unveil
\nnew measures, detail his policies and outline his vision for a
\nfourth term amid the fanfare and hoopla of a political
\nconvention.<\/p>\n
To blow it will very likely mean defeat for the Liberal-
\nNational coalition and retirement from politics for Howard at the
\nage of 65.<\/p>\n
Its success or otherwise will be measured against Labor's
\ncampaign launching on Wednesday, in Brisbane, capital of the
\neastern state of Queensland in which a string of key marginal
\nseats are crucial for both sides.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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