Gus Dur set for historic visit<\/p>\n
By Meydiatama Suryodiningrat<\/p>\n
CANBERRA (JP): The Australian capital was its usual quiet self
\nover the weekend, no sign that it was to witness probably one of
\nthe most important events in ties with its northern neighbor --
\nthe first visit of an Indonesian President in 26 years.<\/p>\n
Barring a last minute cancellation on Sunday -- which has
\nalready happened five times before -- President Abdurrahman Wahid
\nis due to arrive here on Monday morning.<\/p>\n
The trip is significant for two reasons: it will mark a very
\nrare visit by an Indonesian top official to Australia, and could
\nsignify a historic step in the often rocky ties between the two
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
Despite over a dozen visits to Indonesia by an Australian
\nprime minister since the mid-1970s, no Indonesian leader has
\nvisited Australia since that time.<\/p>\n
Former vice president Try Sutrisno was the most senior
\nofficial to visit here in 1995.<\/p>\n
Former president Soeharto always ducked a visit to Australia
\nunder the specter of mass demonstrations against his rule.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman's visit to Australia will encompass three cities
\n-- Canberra, Sydney and Darwin.<\/p>\n
The high point of the visit will be his meeting with
\nAustralian Prime Minister John Howard in Canberra. But his visit
\nto the latter two cities could be more colorful as it would focus
\non business affairs and be prone to public protests.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman and his entourage are due to leave Jakarta on
\nSunday evening on an Air Force Boeing-707. He will arrive in
\nSydney on Monday morning where he will then take another flight
\nfor the quick half-hour hop to Canberra.<\/p>\n
A select group of top officials -- including Indonesian
\nMinister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab, Minister of Industry and
\nTrade Luhut Pandjaitan and Minister of Agriculture Bungaran
\nSaragih -- will accompany the President on the small plane from
\nSydney while the rest of the entourage will take the two-hour
\ndrive down to Canberra.<\/p>\n
At about 11:30 a.m., Abdurrahman will meet with Howard,
\nfollowed by lunch.<\/p>\n
Australian and Indonesian officials have said the topic would
\ncover a wide spectrum of issues ranging from bilateral economic
\nand political matters with of course East Timor likely to be
\ntouched upon.<\/p>\n
However the officials from both countries have also indicated
\nthat they did not wish East Timor to be the crux of the visit as
\nit was time to \"take the pebble out of the shoe\" and out of the
\nway of the bilateral ties.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman and Howard would like to come out of the meeting
\nhere on Monday with a clear sign that it was high tide in
\nIndonesia-Australia relations, after the ebb of the past two
\nyears, due in large part to the East Timor debacle.<\/p>\n
It has been no secret that relations between Jakarta and
\nCanberra slowly withered after the administration of former prime
\nminister Paul Keating, who described Indonesia as \"Australia's
\nmost important neighbor\" in the mid-1990s.<\/p>\n
Relations were so bad at one point that in 1999 a security
\narrangement between the two countries were scrapped.<\/p>\n
A most recent thorny issue which officials believe may come up
\nto color the discussions, or at least the public's attention
\nhere, is an Indonesian police raid on a conference in Bogor in
\nwhich dozens of Australians were detained for no clear reason.<\/p>\n
Howard may have no choice but to bring up the East Timor issue
\ngiven the large Australian contingent deployed there, and the
\nlarge domestic constituency still concerned with the question of
\npast human rights violations in the former Indonesian province.<\/p>\n
For Abdurrahman himself, going to Australia is a gamble given
\nthe persistent opposition in some domestic corners.<\/p>\n
Showing that he has fully mended ties with Canberra and
\nobtaining significant economic pledges from Australia will be a
\npolitical feather in his cap.<\/p>\n
Generally reactions in Indonesia have been camped on the
\nextremes -- praise at its importance, or just plain aloofness
\nthat it is a visit by a president on the ropes.<\/p>\n
During his stay in Australia, Abdurrahman will be given the
\nfull red-carpet treatment, meeting the full array of Australian
\ngovernment and business officials.<\/p>\n
On Monday afternoon, after meeting with Howard, he will meet
\nwith opposition party leader Kim Beazeley and later in the
\nevening, dinner with the Australian governor general.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, he will fly to Sydney for a one-day stay, which
\nwill include a meeting with the business community and a courtesy
\ncall from New South Wales Governor Mary Roslyn Bashir and Premier
\nBob Carr.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Abdurrahman will fly off to Wellington before
\nreturning to Darwin.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman will fly to Manila for a one-day stop to meet with
\nthe new Philippine president, Gloria Arroyo, before returning to
\nJakarta.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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