Australian union bans RI ships<\/p>\n
MELBOURNE (Reuter): Australia's powerful Maritime Union
\nyesterday launched rolling bans on Indonesian shipping to protest
\nagainst the arrest of Indonesian labor leaders and Canberra's
\n\"failure\" to press Jakarta on human rights.<\/p>\n
The lightning bans, called at short notice and designed to
\nhold up ships for 24 hours, could apply on an irregular basis to
\nall types of commodity exports to Indonesia, the union said.<\/p>\n
Australia's nearest Asian neighbor bought A$2.4 billion
\n(US$1.9 billion) worth of Australian commodities in 1995,
\ncovering grains, minerals, livestock and refined petroleum.<\/p>\n
\"The bans are to protest against the recent arrests of
\nindependent labor leaders Muchtar Pakpahan and Dita Sari and the
\ncontinuing repression following the July riots in Jakarta,\" the
\nunion said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The bans are also a response to Australian Prime Minister John
\nHoward's failure in Jakarta this week to press Indonesia on the
\nissue of human rights and democracy, the union said.<\/p>\n
During his three-day Indonesian visit ended yesterday, Howard
\nreaffirmed Australia's commitment to close ties.<\/p>\n
The first ship to be hit by the rolling bans is to be the
\nBogasari Empat, due to arrive in Fremantle on Australia's west
\ncoast late yesterday to load 32,500 tons of wheat.<\/p>\n
The ship will load wheat as scheduled but will be delayed for
\n24 hours before being able to depart, union assistant secretary
\nVic Slater told Reuters.<\/p>\n
\"It delays things,\" he said of the bans. \"In terms of the
\neconomy, I don't think it has any effect on the Australian
\neconomy....It just buggers (frustrates) up shipping lines.\"<\/p>\n
Reactions<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, Husein Aminuddin, an executive of the Indonesian
\nChamber of Commerce and Industry, said yesterday that the bans
\nwere insignificant because they were for such a short period.<\/p>\n
He said he was also confident that Canberra would not allow
\nthe bans to disrupt Australia's economy.<\/p>\n
\"I don't think Australia would want to 'commit suicide' by
\nallowing such bans to interfere with its economic ties with other
\ncountries including Indonesia... Besides, Australia is now
\nstriving to improve its financial condition,\" he told The Jakarta
\nPost.<\/p>\n
Similarly, former ambassador to Australia Sabam Siagian said
\nthe impact of the bans would be insignificant and would not last
\nlong.<\/p>\n
Businessman Sofyan Wanandi said this was not the first time
\nthe bans had occurred in Australia. \"In the past, such bans
\nproved to have little impact,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, former foreign minister Mochtar Kusuma-atmadja said
\nthe bans were an internal affair of Australia, and Jakarta should
\n\"just let them be\".<\/p>\n
Pakpahan, leader of the Indonesian Labor Welfare Union (SBSI),
\nhas been charged with subversion in connection with riots that
\nrocked the Indonesian capital on July 27. The crime of subversion
\nis punishable by death.<\/p>\n
Labor activist Dita Sari was arrested before the July 27 riots
\nover a labor strike in Surabaya, East Java.<\/p>\n
The Australian rolling bans are in line with a worldwide
\ncampaign against Pakpahan's arrest by the International Transport
\nWorkers' Federation, which represents more than five million
\nworkers in 120 countries, the Maritime Union said.<\/p>\n
The Maritime Union, which boasts of 10,000 members working
\naround Australia as seamen and waterside workers, has a history
\nof taking industrial action over events in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
In Sydney, analysts said yesterday the bans threaten to hit
\nA$2.4 billion worth of Australian commodity exports covering
\nwheat, refined petroleum, cotton, livestock, aluminum and iron
\nand steel.<\/p>\n
First commodities to be held up by 24-hour bans will be wheat
\nand livestock, while cotton will also be especially hard-hit,
\nanalysts said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Australia's biggest single disclosed export to Indonesia is
\nrefined petroleum and oils, worth A$282 million in 1995.<\/p>\n
Petroleum ranks second to a confidential catch-all category
\nfor Australian exports, worth more than A$300 million last year
\nand, analysts say, dominated by wheat.<\/p>\n
But cotton will be a clear casualty of protracted bans.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, now Australia's largest customer for cotton after
\novertaking Japan in recent years, last year imported A$205
\nmillion worth of the Australian product.<\/p>\n
Cotton ranked after petroleum as Australia's second-biggest
\ndisclosed export item to Indonesia.
\nAnd Australian cotton is now in its peak shipping period.<\/p>\n
The bans would affect Australia's cotton export performance,
\nsaid Gordon Cherry, general manager of Cotton Trading Corp.<\/p>\n
\"Most cotton mills these days operate very much on hand-to-
\nmouth,\" he told Reuters.<\/p>\n
\"They're not holding stock. So yes it does disrupt their
\nsupply and because supply has to be timely that reflects badly on
\nour reputation as a shipper,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"It's very frustrating that these things happen, particularly
\nwhen we're in a peak shipping period for cotton,\" Cherry said.<\/p>\n
Australia's peak cotton shipping period runs from April to
\nSeptember. August\/September have been very big months for
\nAustralia this year because of the late season, Cherry said.
\nLivestock follows cotton on Australia's export list.<\/p>\n
With about A$157 million worth exported to Indonesia last
\nyear, Indonesia is Australia's leading customer for livestock in
\nboth volume and value terms.<\/p>\n
Lloyd Beeby, international livestock manager for the
\nAustralian Meat and Livestock Corp, declined to comment on the
\nunion bans. \"We keep well and truly out of that,\" he said.
\nHe also would not speculate on the impact of union bans on the trade.<\/p>\n
But Australia's livestock exports to Indonesia have become so
\nbig that a fleet of more than 30 ships continually services the
\ntrade.<\/p>\n
A ship would be loading for export to Indonesia somewhere in
\nAustralia almost every day, Beeby said.<\/p>\n
He was unable to say specifically which ship was scheduled to
\nbe next off the rank.<\/p>\n
BHP also exports steel to Indonesia. This item falls into the
\nconfidential items category. (pwn\/13)<\/p>",
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