Aussie attitude toward Indonesia

Aussie attitude toward Indonesia

I refer to Mr. Jusuf Wanandi's article (The Jakarta Post, Nov.
15) and Australian Ambassador R.C. Smith's reply (Nov. 17).

I wish to agree with Mr. Wanandi and thank Mr. Smith at the
same time for his elaborate explanation. Although Mr. Smith means
well, Australians are famous for their lack of tolerance toward
non-Caucasians. Mr. Smith should convince Australia's government
to change its attitude toward Indonesia, as this country is their
largest neighbor and they cannot change the map.

Despite the fact that Australia has a proud record of
refugee resettlement, that is contrary to recent occurrences,
where Australia paid tiny Pacific countries to accept refugees.
If Mr. Smith names Australia as one of the world's most
successful multicultural societies he is mistaken, because that
country is Holland. Although tiny Holland's boundaries are
bursting at its seams, it still accepts hundreds of refugees each
year.

LYNNA VAN DER ZEE-OEHMKE

Bogor, West Java