Aussie, Indonesia advised to abandon suspicion

Aussie, Indonesia advised to abandon suspicion

JAKARTA (JP): Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Gareth
Evans says Indonesia and Australia should abandon the long-held
suspicion that they pose a threat to each other.

There is no need to give even a moment's reflection to the
possibility of either of the two neighboring countries being a
threat to each other, he said during a conference on Saturday.

"There has never been any logic in that possibility and, if
this be arithmetically possible, there is even less now," he
said.

The conference entitled Australia and the New World Order was
jointly organized by the Research Institute for Asia and the
Pacific (RIAP) and Indonesian Centre for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS).

Evans said that in the past security would have been the most
important element in determining the perception of the two
neighbors' relationship, at least on the Australian side.

Evans told the conference, held as part of the huge Australia
Today Indonesia '94 promotion, that even with the current peace
in the Asia-Pacific region, both nations should guard against
certain possible contingencies that could disrupt the situation.

Evans said that now Jakarta and Canberra, unlike several years
ago, can discuss "all these difficult issues" like human rights
in a frank and open manner.

He acknowledged that differences of opinion and sensitive
issues were bound to arise from time to time between Australia
and Indonesia, which he considered "most unusual neighbors".

"But it is much better to talk about them ... than to take any
other more strident approaches. That's the attitude which we very
much have in Australia these days," he said.

He said both governments were currently exerting such a great
deal of effort in economic and political cooperation, "that the
ship of state couldn't in the future be blown off course by minor
scores of disagreements on particular issues ... which is where
we are now".

He added that if Australia wanted itself to be heard in a
productive way, it should not exercise a "strident and
aggressive" attitude and apply "Western values and doing so in a
patronizing way" because this would be counter-productive.

"We are cautious these days about the way we say things -- not
about what we say," Evans said.

"It is understanding that how you say things and how you
express them can be very important and very negative if you can't
get it right," he added.

Juwono Sudarsono, former dean of the School of Social and
Political Science of the University of Indonesia, told the press
on a separate occasion that he shared Evans' opinions.

He said that what other countries said to the Indonesian
government did have an impact which was often fruitful.

"What's as important is the way it is said ... it would be
more effective if a concern about an issue was made quietly
rather than on the stage or in front of the media," he said.

Indonesian Ambassador to Australia Sabam Siagian, suggested
that there should be more people on both sides that feel
committed to reducing the "misunderstanding" and "ignorance"
about each other.

"The reason is simple ... we are destined to be partners on
the basis of a symmetry of geopolitical interests," he said.

Sabam pointed out the need for the two, as neighbors, to learn
to be patient with each other and to spend time listening to each
other.

Recalling his experiences in Australia, when he received
critical statements on human rights violations in Indonesia,
Sabam acknowledged that the improvement of the situation depended
mainly on committed Indonesians who believe in humanitarian
values.

"Despite the difficulties faced by any developing country, I
am optimistic that gradually a just and humane society will be
established in Indonesia," he said.

Desmond Ball of the Strategic and Defense Studies Centre of
the Australian National University in Canberra, who reviewed the
Indonesian-Australian regional security relationship, pointed
out, however, that considerable mutual suspicion still remains
between the two countries.

Although Evans, during his speech, expressed confidence that
Indonesia was now no longer viewed as a threat by Australians,
Ball showed that starting from 1975, when East Timor integrated
with Indonesia, up to the end of the 1980's, many Australians
considered Indonesia a possible threat to Australia.

He said that as recently as 1993, a national survey revealed
that some 57 percent of Australian voters believed that Indonesia
would pose a security threat to Australia within 10 to 15 years.
(pwn)