Australian PM Howard praised at home for his coolness in Jakarta<\/p>\n
Belinda Goldsmith, Reuters, Canberra<\/p>\n
Australian Prime Minister John Howard was applauded at home on
\nFriday for keeping his cool during a visit to repair ties with
\nIndonesia despite taunts from Amien Rais and other
\nparliamentarians.<\/p>\n
Amien, head of Indonesia's top assembly, canceled a meeting
\nwith Howard at the 11th hour, stealing headlines by accusing
\nAustralia of meddling in Jakarta's internal affairs -- but then
\nsat near Howard at a state dinner, exchanging pleasantries.<\/p>\n
Howard, who is due home later on Friday, refused to let Amien
\nruffle him, dismissing the snub as a domestic political gesture
\nby a known opponent of President Megawati Soekarnoputri that was
\ndesigned to curry favor with Indonesians critical of Australia.<\/p>\n
Maintaining his calm, Howard pushed ahead with the visit and
\nleft Jakarta with a pact signed by Megawati to combat regional
\nterrorism and promising to give Indonesia five patrol boats to
\nhelp in the battle against people smugglers.<\/p>\n
Howard, spending his final day in Indonesia in the ancient
\nroyal capital of Yogyakarta, said the visit was \"worthwhile\" but
\nhe was realistic about the relationship.<\/p>\n
\"The mistake that has been made in the past in relation to
\nIndonesia is that people have elevated expectations out of the
\nrelationship and those expectations are always doomed to be
\ndisappointed,\" Howard told reporters on Friday.<\/p>\n
Australian commentators hailed the visit a success in putting
\nthe relationship back on track after six months of tension -- and
\na feather in the cap for Howard who is usually criticized for his
\nawkwardness with foreign policy issues.<\/p>\n
\"Mr Howard, though not entirely blameless for past strains in
\nthe relationship, deserves credit for what has already been
\nachieved by his visit,\" said an editorial in The Age newspaper.<\/p>\n
\"That is particularly so when one considers the diplomatic
\nindignities to which he was subjected in Jakarta.\"<\/p>\n
Relations between neighbors Australia and Indonesia, the
\nworld's most populous Muslim nation, have always been testy.<\/p>\n
But they hit a low when Australia led an international peace
\nforce into East Timor in 1999 after a vote for independence from
\nJakarta turned violent. Some Indonesians accused Canberra of
\ninterfering in domestic affairs.<\/p>\n
With Megawati elected to power last July, Canberra hoped to
\nforget the past but a month later tensions flared between the
\npresident and Howard when a Norwegian tanker rescued 433 asylum
\nseekers from an Indonesian boat and carried them to Australia.<\/p>\n
Howard, facing a tight election and aware of resentment in
\nAustralia to rising numbers of Middle Eastern and Afghan boat
\npeople, took a controversial stand. He refused to allow them in.
\nAustralia has turned away every boat with asylum seekers since.<\/p>\n
But Jakarta also refused to take back the Afghan migrants who
\npaid people smugglers in Indonesia for passage to Australia.
\nMegawati would not return Howard's telephone calls and her
\ncolleagues accused him of \"megaphone diplomacy\".<\/p>\n
Howard's visit to Jakarta this week, the first since his
\nconservative government waltzed back into power last November,
\naimed to wipe the slate clean again.<\/p>\n
Howard, a diminutive politician whose determination is cited
\nas the key to his success, was not going to let a diplomatic snub
\nruin a trip to heal wounds.<\/p>\n
\"He saved face in the end, however there is no room for
\ntriumphalism,\" The Australian newspaper said in an editorial.<\/p>\n
\"Australia, like Indonesia, should take care to build on the
\nimprovement in the relationship, rather than let if fall victim
\nonce again to short-term domestic political agendas.\"<\/p>",
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