Australia supports democracy in RI

Australia supports democracy in RI

This is the second of two articles based on a presentation by
Kim Beazley, leader of the opposition in the Australian Federal
Parliament and chairman of the Australian Labor Party at the
Indonesia Australian Business Council breakfast meeting in
Jakarta on May 2, 2000.

JAKARTA: Indonesia has always been and will remain a nation of
major importance in the world.

This nation's strategic location, its vast population, and its
great potential wealth, dictate its significance.

There will be continuing world attention on the democratic
experiment undertaken by this nation, made up of more than 17,000
islands and 200 million people.

Indonesia's transition to democracy will also fundamentally
transform the character and basis of the Australia/Indonesia
bilateral relationship.

It provides the platform for a deeper and more rewarding
understanding of each other. It creates the potential to take us
well beyond the practical dimensions of our relationship, into a
new relationship of democracies cooperating for mutual good.

We should look for every opportunity to extend our cooperation
into new areas -- including environmental protection, sustainable
development, and for example in combating forest fires and
developing sustainable fisheries.

In the area of defense and security, Australia and Indonesia
have shared interests in maintaining a strategic dialogue and
pursuing practical initiatives such as combating piracy.

Any future military cooperation between our armed forces
should be but one strand of a broader and more diverse
relationship, and must be supportive of Indonesia's democratic
transition.

It is not a question of "rebuilding" a past relationship --
too much change has occurred for the better for that to be our
guiding principle. In building a new relationship, we must
acknowledge that democratic politics can introduce new
complexities into the relationship.

And real political leadership from both sides will be vital
for the relationship to move forward smoothly.

At this point, I need to situate the question of East Timor in
this new bilateral framework. The resolution of East Timor's
status has taken place. I should state for the record that
successive governments in Australia recognized East Timor's
incorporation in Indonesia. Many Australians were uneasy with it.
Its situation has now been resolved.

We must now ensure that no-one draws the wrong conclusions for
our regional and bilateral relationship from the role Australia
played with the United Nations in East Timor.

It was an important role in stopping the violence there, under
the auspices of the United Nations, and with the agreement of the
Indonesian government. No more and no less.

Our actions were governed by the very same principles of human
rights and democratic aspirations exercised by millions of our
Indonesian friends in electing Indonesia's new government and
President last year.

Now we must face the future for East Timor. Many difficulties
lie ahead, as we all know, and success will not come about by
accident. East Timor needs friendly neighbors and this is
recognized by its leaders.

All sides have their parts to play. Indonesia is playing its
part by recognizing the outcome of last year's ballot, and
accepting East Timor's independence.

President Abdurrahman Wahid's reassuring meetings with Jose
Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao reverberated internationally as a true
attempt at reconciliation. The president's big-hearted move did
much to enhance Indonesia's international reputation.

Australia and Indonesia both have a strong interest in
supporting East Timor's independent and stable development. We
can and must work together to build an enduring partnership
between our three countries.

A bright new future is possible for relations between
Australia and Indonesia. It is the responsibility of this
generation to deliver that bright future.

My country's national interest -- and Indonesia's too --
dictate no less.

Our national interests also dictate that we cannot step back
from each other just because the going gets tough. Neither of us
can afford to put the other on the shelf for a few years. Drift
in the relationship is an option that will benefit neither of us.

Indonesia's dignity and self-respect are not diminished by
pursuing good relations with Australia. Nor is Australia's
dignity and self-respect diminished by our pursuit of good
relations with Indonesia.

Those relations will be powerfully advanced by Indonesia's
economic recovery. We note that, after two years of contraction,
the economy is expected to grow by a healthy four percent this
year.

In the trade context Australia and Indonesia have a great deal
to gain from one another. I welcome the fact that Australia's
exports to Indonesia have come back strongly from the downturn
between 1997 and 1999, when they fell by a third.

We welcome the recovery in trade first and foremost for its
indication of the promising new dawn it represents for the
millions of Indonesians who have suffered the material
deprivations of the last few years.

The Australian Labor Party supported Australia's financial
initiatives to help Indonesia through this difficult period.

Our side of politics has long recognized that the bilateral
trade relationship with Indonesia is one of mutual benefit.

We must work hard to build and reinforce Australia's trade and
investment links with Indonesia in both the public and private
sectors. I note that the balance of trade is currently running in
Indonesia's favor. There are few other countries in the Asian
region where this is the case.

Our two countries worked strongly together in the early days
of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. And the Bogor
Declaration was, of course, negotiated and signed in Indonesia.
Our trade interests coincide in pushing the implementation of the
Bogor Declaration on trade liberalization. We will both benefit
from this.

We have so much to offer each other and there are so many
opportunities for both countries in the relationship, that it
makes good sense for us to be good neighbors.

Indonesia is a huge market, with improving economic growth,
soon to benefit from the openness democracy will bring.
Opportunities exist for both countries, as we can see from the
fact that at present we both only take about 3 percent of each
other's exports.

On Australia's part, nearly 40 percent of our exports are
primary products. Of course, I welcome this performance. It
indicates that there are huge opportunities for us to lift our
exports of manufactured goods and services.

On the subject of education, a key services export, Indonesia
is currently the largest source country for international
students in Australia with more than 17,000 of your students
studying in Australian educational institutions in 1999.

When my vision for Australia comes to fruition, and we take
our place as one of the key knowledge economies in the world, as
a highly skilled, highly productive Knowledge Nation, our
education system will become even more attractive, with even more
to offer our Indonesian neighbours.

Our education links form part of our trade relationship. But
as recent history shows, education links also provide a strong
cultural bond.

As our citizens, especially young people, study in each
other's country and as we learn more about each other and make
friends and contacts, the bonds between our two peoples will
strengthen.

And this brings me to another reason I am optimistic about
improved relations in the future.

And that is the solid ties between our two peoples.

The Australian people have a great deal of goodwill towards
Indonesia, and followed your free elections and their aftermath
with keen interest. We followed events here in great detail.

Australia respects Indonesia's territorial integrity and is
aware of the difficulties of maintaining stability in such a
diverse and widespread grouping of islands.

As I have remarked, we respect the brave democratization being
embarked upon in this country. This courage is very much
reflected in President Abdurrahman's efforts at peacefully
resolving difficult challenges in Aceh and elsewhere.

President Abdurrahman is a good friend of our country, and he
has Australia's respect for his far-sighted leadership during
this difficult transitional time in Indonesian history.

We are closely following the President's efforts in pursuit of
economic recovery, and, of course, his respect for the rule of
law and universal human rights. Reform is slow, as is to be
expected so early in the democratic process, but certainly, from
my observation, Indonesia has made a bold start in the right
direction.