Gus Dur's Australia visit useless for Indonesia: Legislators<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Legislators on Friday strongly reacted to
\nPresident Abdurrahman Wahid's intention to visit Australia this
\nmonth, saying the Indonesian leader should delay the visit which
\nwas not urgent and likely be unproductive.<\/p>\n
\"The President should listen to the House's official call on
\nhim to delay the visit because according to the legislative body,
\nit is not urgent and unfruitful,\" House Speaker Akbar Tandjung
\nsaid here on Friday.<\/p>\n
He said the House has delivered an official letter from the
\nCommission I on foreign affairs, security and defense to the
\nPresident, asking the President to wait for a more conducive
\nclimate before embarking on the visit.<\/p>\n
The President in a meeting with the Association of Regional
\nLegislatures on Thursday revealed his plan to visit Australia by
\nthe end of this month for talks that would include the sensitive
\nissue of Irian Jaya province.<\/p>\n
Australian-Indonesian diplomatic ties have nose-dived since
\nAustralia led a multinational force to East Timor following the
\npost-ballot rampage in the territory last year.<\/p>\n
The calls to delay the trip were reinforced by Yasril Ananta
\nBaharudin, chairman of the House's Commission I which oversees
\nforeign affairs, who said Indonesia had nothing to gain from it
\nand that it would only benefit Australia.<\/p>\n
\"It is better for the President to delay his visit to that
\ncountry because we feel there's no urgency,\" Yarsil said pointing
\nout that Abdurrahman would be going there not in his personal
\ncapacity but in his position as head of state.<\/p>\n
He said his commission had sent an official letter to the
\nPresident calling on him to delay the visit.<\/p>\n
\"Australia has frequently taken actions humiliating Indonesia
\nas an independent nation. It is better if that country's leader
\ncomes here first,\" he asserted.<\/p>\n
But separately foreign minister Alwi Shihab asserted that
\ndespite the House's call, the President would go ahead with his
\nplan to visit Australia because the visit was aimed at long-term
\ngoals for the sake of bilateral ties.<\/p>\n
\"Gus Dur's planned Australian visit has been delayed several
\ntimes. We should make a separation between the long-term vision
\nand short-term objectives,\" he told journalists at his office on
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
Alwi and several other Indonesian ministers are due to hold
\ntalks with their counterparts on Nov. 25 and Nov. 26 to pave the
\nway for the presidential visit.<\/p>\n
However the likelihood of such a visit taking place in the
\nnext few weeks remains questionable as the President already has
\na full schedule this month which includes two overseas trips and
\nhosting a state visit by South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung.<\/p>\n
The most available time would be sometime during the fasting
\nmonth which starts either Nov. 26 or Nov. 27.<\/p>\n
But this would mean the President having to go back on his
\nword not to travel during the fasting month. (rms\/45)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gus-durs-australia-visit-useless-for-indonesia-legislators-1447893297",
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