Australian heroes of humanity on Nias island

Australian heroes of humanity on Nias island

Sudirman Nasir, Melbourne

As an Indonesian currently studying in Australia, it was very hard not to weep reading about the deaths of nine young servicemen and women of the Australian Defense Force (ADF) who lost their lives while helping earthquake victims on Nias Island. It was a dramatic moment when the bodies of these nine were returned home.

How heartbreaking to witness Jarryd Bennet, the son of the late Leading Seamen Scott Bennet, trying his best to be a grown- up boy for his father, trying not to cry as he proudly carried off his father's medal of valor. What a heartrending moment to see the baby Hugo Carter, who lost his uncle, the late Lieutenant Paul Kimlin, who was also his surrogate father after the death of his biological father last year.

The Indonesian people, the people of Nias island in particular, will never forget those courageous Australians and will value them as heroes. These nine are not just heroes in the eyes of Australians, but also in the eyes of Indonesians.

The medals of valor presented by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for the victims of the Sea King helicopter crash are a reflection of the deep respect and gratitude the Indonesian government feels for these people. However, a more genuine respect and gratitude will come from ordinary Indonesians, who will preserve the nine ADF servicemen and women in their collective memories.

Moreover, the huge amount of Australian aid for the victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami and the recent Nias earthquake will be a landmark in the new era of relations between the two countries; not just government-to-government relations, but also people-to- people.

During President Susilo's recent visit to Australia, he mentioned the strategic relationship between the richest country in the Southern Hemisphere (Australia) and the biggest Muslim country and the third largest democratic country in the world (Indonesia).

Tragedies such as the Bali bombings, the bombing outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, the tsunami and the Nias earthquake that have helped bring about a new era of Australia- Indonesia ties, hopefully will also lead to better understanding between the countries.

In the past, the Australia-Indonesia relationship was often marred by the oversimplification of the complex nature of both countries.

On the one hand, many Indonesians who dislike Australia are ultranationalists who base their views on the role of Australia in East Timor, ignoring the crucial role of Australia in assisting Indonesian during its fight for independence in the 1940s. These people also often deny the fact that Indonesia was responsible for some brutal violence against the people of East Timor in the past.

In addition, many Indonesians who are not happy with the foreign policy of John Howard's administration, especially Howard's support for the U.S. invasion of Iraq, perhaps are unaware that there are many Australians who also disagree with Howard and see the aggressive nature of the U.S. foreign policy as a real threat to peace.

On the other hand, many Australians with negative views of Indonesia based these views on the actions of the Indonesian Military in East Timor, West Papua and Aceh, or the actions of the responsible for bombings in Bali and Jakarta. In fact, many Indonesians are also critical of the military and denounce terrorism.

Another oversimplification is the doubt many Australians have about the level of commitment on the part of Indonesia to combat terrorism. Many Australians, including foreign minister Alexander Downer and opposition leader Kim Beazley, publicly announced they were disappointed with the relatively light sentence (only 30 months) given to terror suspect Abu Bakar Ba'asyir. Downer, Beazley and many other Australians said they wanted Ba'asyir to receive a longer sentence.

However, it was apparent that Jakarta faced a big dilemma in the Ba'asyir case because there were not enough evidence to give him a long sentence. Furthermore, sentencing Ba'asyir to a long sentence without sufficient evidence would have been problematic and could have caused a backlash for the Indonesian government.

Tim Lindsey, an expert on Indonesia at the University of Melbourne, in his article Jakarta's Ba'asyir Dilemma (The Age, March 8), tried to explain the complex nature of the case and the quandary of Jakarta in dealing with fundamentalism and terrorism. Lindsey said the Indonesian government was committed to fighting terrorism since the country had been the victim of international terrorist attacks.

The Australia-Indonesia relationship is crucial, particularly in vital areas such as maintaining democracy in Indonesia and combating terrorism. The results of last year's elections in Indonesia were hard proof that the majority of Indonesians are not interested in fundamentalism, evident in the significant decline in support for Islamic political parties. In the meantime, the generosity of many Western countries for the victims of natural disasters in Indonesia is a strong counterargument against claims by fundamentalists that the West is out to destroy Muslims.

In the future, the support of Western countries, including Australia, for moderate Muslim organizations in Indonesia such as Nahdatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, to promote democracy, combat terrorism and help Indonesians affected by natural disasters, will demonstrate that international cooperation is far more productive than international terrorism.

The writer is a postgraduate student at the University of Melbourne.