Agenda of RI and Australia

Agenda of RI and Australia

By Siswo Pramono

CANBERRA, Australia (JP): Taken together, the Indonesian-
Australian relationship involves about 220 million people, which
represents a potentially huge market. The relationship involves
hundreds of ethnic and cultural groups, which reflect at least
two or three of the world civilizations, depicting a splendid
multiculturalism and a way of life. It encompasses a total area
of more than 3.5 million square miles, which is rich in natural
resources. But, unfortunately, Australian party politics have
framed this relationship based on myopic political agendas.

Indonesian-Australian relations have been reduced into one or
two dominating issues. The reductionist agenda has impeded the
two countries from tapping the maximum benefit from bilateral
ties.

Allegations of human rights violations in East Timor and West
Papua have dominated Indonesian-Australian relations. While the
promotion of human rights is of primary importance for Indonesia
and Australia, the bilateral agenda must not neglect other
important issues which are vital to the well-being of the two
peoples.

While the above human rights issues are important, a broader
and enriched bilateral agenda would best serve the interests of
the two peoples, and hence the promotion of human rights in
Indonesia.

As issues relating to East Timor, Maluku and West Papua loom
high on the political platform of the Australian coalition
government and the Australian Labour Party (ALP), Australian
foreign policy, including foreign aid policy, tends to heavily
focused on the eastern part of Indonesia. In fact, this approach
has been in line with Indonesia's policy of boosting the economic
development of its eastern regions.

The Australian "East policy", however, has incited suspicions
among many in Indonesia who are anxious about Australia's strong
political-historical ties with Melanesian groups in the South
Pacific, in particular with Papua New Guinea and West Papua.

Suspicion aside, Indonesia and Australia have managed to
develop economic linkages to strengthen bilateral relations,
particularly those involving the eastern regions. On April 24,
1997, the two governments launched the Australia-Indonesia
Development Area (AIDA) in Ambon. Its main objective was to
enhance economic ties between Australia's Northern Territory and
the Indonesian provinces of West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan,
East Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, Bali, North Sulawesi, Central
Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, West Nusatenggara,
East Nusatenggara, East Timor (at that time an Indonesian
province), Maluku and Irian Jaya. The two countries believed that
trade would not only promote welfare but also peace and stability
in the eastern part of Indonesia.

If networking matters, this liberal approach should not be
confined only to the Indonesia's eastern regions. A similar
scheme must be developed to promote relations between western
parts of Indonesia with Western Australia as well.

The two sides could employ existing regional networks, such as
the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-
ARC), for bilateral purposes.

The IOR-ARC was established in 1997 with a membership of 14
countries, namely Australia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar,
Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Singapore, South Africa,
Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Yemen. The main objectives of the IOR-ARC
are the promotion of trade and investment, and other forms of
economic ties.

The scheme under the IOR-ARC would connect the trading
communities of Western Australia with communities in many of
Indonesia's western provinces, such as Aceh and Western Sumatra,
which have long entrepreneurial traditions.

It must be noted, however, that the AIDA and the IOR-ARC were
engineered by the central governments of the countries involved.
The implementation of decentralization and regional autonomy
raises the question of how far these schemes can best serve local
and regional interests, particularly those of Indonesian
provinces, regencies and cities.

Thus, it is time for Indonesia and Australia to gear
themselves towards a broader bilateral agenda that is able to
accommodate the broader interests of the people at all levels of
governance.

For Indonesia, Law No. 37/1999 on foreign affairs offers a
starting point for giving multilevel networking a central role to
play in bilateral relations. Article 1 of the law stipulates that
foreign relations include any aspect of regional and
international activities carried out by central and regional
governments, various governmental and state institutions, non-
governmental organizations, corporations, political
organizations, and citizens. Article 28 instructs the minister of
foreign affairs to play a coordinating role in respect of foreign
relations, and to give effect to foreign policy.

This means that the initiators of bilateral relations must be
broadened to include various segments of society. Thus, Indonesia
(and Australia) should rely more on "multitrack diplomacy", a
concept which depicts engagements, ranging from government-to-
government actions to those which are people-to-people.

Furthermore, the implementation of Law No.22/1999 on regional
autonomy implies a more bottom-up approach in the formulation of
such bilateral agendas. While the formulation of foreign policy
remains the domain of the central government, with more autonomy
in their hands the regions will be more active in engaging in
foreign affairs. Consequently, regional interests must be well-
accommodated in the bilateral agenda.

The formulation of a broader agenda requires extensive
discourse in various bilateral fora. The two countries must
promote effective channels of dialog between parliaments,
regional and local governments, cities, and various non-
governmental or community associations. As such, the grassroots
calls for poverty eradication, basic education, better health
services, a better environment, gender equality, basic security,
good governance and other important issues can be heard and
accommodated. The agenda must not become the hostage of
particular issues only, no matter how important these issues are.

Now the momentum is right. Both countries have committed
themselves to re-engage after the collapse of the relationship
following the Australian military intervention in East Timor.
The recent exchange of visits between the two countries' leaders
might be a prelude for a much more normal relationship in the
future between Indonesia and Australia.

Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat, the Indonesian envoy to Australia,
told The Canberra Times that Australia and Indonesia were
entering a "new chapter" in their relationship. It is indeed the
hope of many Indonesians and Australians that in this new chapter
everyone has a share in formulating a broader and insightful
agenda for a better relationship.

The writer is an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who
is studying for his doctoral degree at the Australian National
University in Canberra.