Woolcott's
\n'Hot Seat'<\/p>\n
The veteran Australian senior diplomat, my good friend
\nAmbassador Richard "Dick" Woolcott, has published a most
\ninteresting memoir. His book: Hot Seat -- Reflections in
\nDiplomacy from Stalin's Death to the Bali Bombing, published by
\nHarperCollins Publishing, was launched in a festive manner in
\nearly March, in Sydney.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the book contains an erroneous reference of a
\nserious nature about The Jakarta Post daily. On page 128, Dick
\nWoolcott mentioned an experience he had in October 1976 in
\nJakarta as the then Australian ambassador. One week before the
\narrival of Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, the ambassador gave an
\noff the record briefing to the press, among others providing a
\nrealistic profile regarding his VIP guest from Canberra. The
\nambassador was disappointed that The Jakarta Post had committed
\n"a breach of confidence" by printing on its front page the main
\npoints of his off the record briefing.<\/p>\n
The relevant passage that Ambassador Woolcott wrote on page
\n128 of his recently published memoir Hot Seat reads as follows:<\/p>\n
"Malcolm Fraser was duly elected in December 1975 and made a
\nprime ministerial visit to Indonesia the following October. While
\nI knew Fraser, I'd not had the opportunity to work closely with
\nhim, as I had with four of his predecessors. Tall, strangely shy,
\nwith a severe face that reminded you of those mysterious carved
\nfaces on Easter Island, he arrived with his wife Tamie at Halim
\nairport.<\/p>\n
"I feared that the visit would not get off to a good start. I
\nhad given a briefing to Indonesian journalists about a week
\nbeforehand in order to promote interest in the relationship and
\nthe visit. Whitlam had been a popular figure in Indonesia. Fraser
\nwas less well known and many Indonesians were still confused
\nabout Whitlam's dismissal by the governor-general. Some were also
\nsceptical about Fraser's attitude towards Indonesia. Stressing
\nthat the briefing was an off the record discussion essentially
\nfor their background information, I told the journalists that the
\nvisit could be difficult, given Fraser's personality, the timing
\nof the visit and the negative attitude in much of the Australian
\ncommunity towards Indonesia -- attitudes resulting from the death
\nof five journalists at Balibo and Indonesia's invasion of East
\nTimor.<\/p>\n
"Having worked closely and cooperatively with the Australian
\nand foreign media for over a decade without any breach of
\nconfidence, I was somewhat taken aback to read on the front page
\nof The Jakarta Post, the day before Malcolm was due to arrive,
\nthat 'the Australian Ambassador, Richard Woolcott, said in a
\nbriefing that he was expecting some difficulties with the visit
\nof the Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser'. The report
\nadded for good measure that Australian officials regarded him as
\nunrelaxed, overfocused on China and difficult."<\/p>\n
From that passage, it is apparent that Ambassador Woolcott is
\nan eloquent writer. However, that particular passage contains one
\nbasic flaw: The Jakarta Post did not exist at the time of Prime
\nMinister Fraser's visit in October 1976. The first edition of the
\nnewspaper came out only on April 25, 1983. I should know, because
\nI was the Post's first chief editor, until May 1991, when I
\nreceived my assignment as Ambassador to Australia.<\/p>\n
I hope that passage will not give readers of Ambassador
\nWoolcott's Hot Seat a wrong impression of The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
SABAM SIAGIAN
\nJakarta<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/woolcotts-1447899208",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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