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.