Australian unhappy at Megawati no-show for Bali memorial

Australian unhappy at Megawati no-show for Bali memorial

Agencies, Canberra

An Australian opposition leader criticized Indonesian President
Megawati Soekarnoputri on Wednesday for deciding not to attend a
ceremony marking the anniversary of last year's Bali bombing.

Andrew Bartlett of the Australian Democrats said Megawati's
absence from the Oct. 12 memorial for the 202 people killed in
the bombing was a bad signal for bilateral relations. The dead
included 88 Australians.

"I just think it's unfortunate and really you shouldn't need
to work too hard really to get the president of Indonesia to come
to a commemoration like that because there were plenty of
Indonesians of course, that were killed as well in that tragedy,"
he said on national radio.

Prime Minister John Howard, who is due to attend the ceremony,
insisted he was not surprised or disappointed by Megawati's
decision even though he had hoped to discuss counterterrorism
efforts with her on the sidelines of the ceremony.

"I've known for some time that President Megawati, because of
other commitments, wouldn't be able to come to Bali," Howard
said, adding that he would see the Indonesian leader the
following week at an Asia-Pacific summit meeting in Bangkok.

But political commentators viewed this as a snub, in line with
the perception in Indonesia that Howard lectures Jakarta and
treats his relationship with Washington as more important.

Bartlett suggested Howard pressure the Indonesian leader on
the matter.

"I'm sure the prime minister, as would most Australians, would
like the president to be there, whether he's done absolutely
everything he can, I don't know," he said.

Howard has defended his nation's relations within Asia,
highlighting a visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao next month.

Howard, a close U.S. ally, said he was not disappointed that
Megawati would not meet him for talks at the Oct. 12 anniversary
of the Bali bombing or attend a memorial service for the 202
victims.

Australia has also taken a lead role in the fight against
terror in Asia, signing agreements with eight countries to
cooperate on intelligence and law enforcement, and putting police
in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Instead he focused on visits by Hu and U.S. President George
Bush who are both coming to Australia after an Asia Pacific
Economic Cooperation summit ends in Thailand on Oct. 21.

"It demonstrates that the closeness of our relationship with
the United States in no way inhibits close relationships with
countries in Asia, in this case China," Howard told reporters.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said on Tuesday
that Megawati was unlikely to attend the Bali commemoration
because of a visit to Jakarta at the same time by Algerian
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

But he did not rule out the possibility she could change her
mind.

The ceremony is due to be attended by 1,500 relatives of the
Australian victims of the car bomb attack which targeted two
night clubs known to be frequented by Western tourists on the
Indonesian resort island.

The attack was blamed on the al-Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiyah
regional terror network.