Labor or Liberal, no difference to Indonesia<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): While Australian party leaders continue to jeer
\nat one another over the other's foreign policy approaches,
\nanalysts here believe the outcome of the Australian election will
\nhave little bearing on relations with Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Though both parties have expressed diametrically opposite
\nviews, many here see it as an electioneering ploy to drum up
\nsupport from the electorate and nothing else.<\/p>\n
"It is part of the posturing in Australian domestic politics
\nto differentiate themselves from Keating's policies whom they
\nconsider to be close to Pak Harto," Juwono Sudarsono told The
\nJakarta Post when asked to assess the position of the coalition
\nLiberal and National Parties lead by John Howard.<\/p>\n
"There probably won't be too much of a difference whoever is
\nelected in the end," said Juwono, who is deputy governor of the
\nNational Resilience Institute, the military's think tank.<\/p>\n
Juwono disagreed with the notion that a new government in
\nAustralia would weaken the improving ties carefully built between
\nJakarta and Canberra over the past few years.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Paul Keating has set March 2 as the date for
\nthe general election in Australia. He is currently hard at work
\non the campaign trail to try and earn another victory for his
\nLabor Party which has been in power for the past 13 years.<\/p>\n
While the election is expected to hinge on domestic issues,
\nthe course of future Australian foreign policy towards its
\nneighbors has surfaced as part of the heated debate to woo
\nvoters.<\/p>\n
Liberal party officials have said that, if elected, they will
\ntake a firmer stand with regard to relations with Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Keating has lashed back at them, saying President Soeharto
\n"would not seriously negotiate with Howard" and that Jakarta
\nwould not have agreed to the security agreement signed in
\nDecember if it had been proposed by the coalition government.<\/p>\n
Juwono strongly believes that despite the criticisms, the
\nLiberals will likely emulate a similar policy towards Indonesia.<\/p>\n
"If the Liberals are elected, they will be just as close," he
\nsaid, stressing that in such a fierce campaign they have to
\ndisplay a counter position to the incumbent.<\/p>\n
"It is just a campaign tactic so that they sound different,"
\nhe remarked.<\/p>\n
Keating has adopted a highly complaisant relationship with
\nPresident Soeharto and these have allowed ties in many fields to
\nflourish. This relationship reached a new apex in December when
\nthe two countries signed a security agreement.<\/p>\n
Keating's attention lies in his realization of the tremendous
\ncommercial potential that lies in attuning with Indonesia in
\nparticular and Southeast Asia in general.<\/p>\n
He has however has often been reproached for what many
\nAustralians believe is compromising human rights principles for
\nthe sake of business.<\/p>\n
Juwono maintains that even the Liberals will be practical in
\ntheir approach and see the rewards of cordial ties. "The reasons
\nare pragmatic. (In the end)...they all agree with what is being
\npursued by Keating thus far," he argued.<\/p>\n
Two-way trade between 1989-1994 grew at about 50 percent per
\nyear.<\/p>\n
Political scientist Nur Imam Subono from the University of
\nIndonesia and Kusnanto Anggoro from the Centre for Strategic and
\nInternational Studies, while noting the possible tendencies for
\ncloser scrutiny on human rights, contended that Canberra could
\nnot afford to slight Jakarta.<\/p>\n
They maintained that Australia's material vested interests in
\nIndonesia would outweigh any other "symbolic" concerns that a new
\nadministration have might have.<\/p>\n
Subono contended that Indonesia will be of only limited
\nconcern when voters enter the voting booth next month.<\/p>\n
Similarly Kusnanto pointed out that it was a common strategy
\nin elections to grasp at any potential issue at hand which might
\nboost a party's popularity. During the past five years, one of
\nKeating's successes has been in bringing Australia closer to
\nSoutheast Asia, he added. (mds)<\/p>",
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