Democratic Indonesia pivotal for the region

Helen Clark, Prime Minister, New Zealand

Indonesia is an immensely more complex society than New Zealand. Keeping a strong sense of national identity and purpose will always be a more difficult task for this nation than it is for New Zealand.

Yet, difficult as that task is, it is vital for Indonesia and its neighbors that this nation is prosperous and stable. Indonesia with its huge population and national resources can be a powerful economic force in the region and a powerful force for stability.

It is no secret that in the past New Zealand has at times differed sharply with Indonesian governments over the measures they have taken to hinder the evolution of democracy and to suppress dissent. It would also be too much to suggest that our concerns over issues like human rights and justice have entirely disappeared since 1998.

But what we do acknowledge is what has been achieved and in how short a time frame. It is not yet four years since Indonesia left behind a long period of authoritarian rule and began experimenting with new freedoms. I do not believe that shift will be reversed. As this audience well knows, Indonesia now has a vigorous news media, and that is an essential part of the democratic transition.

A number of developments have enabled the relationship between New Zealand and Indonesia to improve significantly in the past two years. The democratic transition here means that our governments have more shared values now than in the past. Indonesia's acceptance of East Timor's desire for independence also removed a significant obstacle to warmer relations.

New Zealand has been very involved in peacekeeping in East Timor since the referendum on independence. The deployment of our forces there has caused us sorrow, with three soldiers dying in accidents, and one being murdered by a militiamen operating out of West Timor. I can say, however, that the Indonesian authorities's willingness to prosecute the killer demonstrated their determination to ensure that justice was done, and that act of good faith in itself has been very positive for our relationship.

In recent times our trade relationship has grown strongly. While New Zealand's exports to Indonesia dropped sharply after the 1997 Asian financial crisis, they have since recovered to record levels at NZ$533 million in the year to December 2001. In that year, our two-way trade grew by 25 percent to reach almost NZ$1 billion.

When President Abdurrahman Wahid visited New Zealand last year, we were in the process of reviewing our aid program in Indonesia.

The outcome of the review has been both to strengthen and to refocus the aid program. It has increased in value by around 50 percent. There will be a strong focus on the eastern region from Lombok to Papua and on poverty elimination in general. We will also support governance reform which strengthens Indonesia's civil service, judiciary, electoral system, and human rights institutions.

While New Zealand is inevitably a small player in Indonesia's trade and development, we want to be engaged as a friend and neighbor in seeing Indonesia and her peoples move ahead. Our human rights advocacy should be seen in this context. We wish to see the Indonesian government and separatist groups resolve their differences peacefully, and we welcome the special autonomy measures for Papua and Aceh. In Aceh our aid program has supported Peace Brigades International which facilitates humanitarian and human rights activities by local NGOs in conflict zones.

We also look forward to continued Indonesian government support for implementation of the peace accords signed by the leaders of the Muslim and Christian communities in Sulawesi and Maluku. In the past two years we have helped fund humanitarian and conflict resolution projects in the Malukus.

An issue on which we have had increased dialogue with Indonesia is that of people smuggling. New Zealand sent two ministers to the Bali conference on people smuggling in February, and our officials are co-ordinating a working group established by the conference on building closer regional and international co-operation. People smuggling is a major international problem and can only be addressed effectively by nations working together. The same applies to resettlement of the worlds refugees.

New Zealand acknowledges that refugees recognized by the UNHCR have ended up stranded in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, and in the Pacific nations of Papua New Guinea and Nauru. What we will not tolerate are those who seek to smuggle people into our country.

I must also warn that the success rate of asylum seekers applying for refugee status in New Zealand is very low, at under twenty percent of those who apply. While New Zealand seeks to treat asylum seekers in a humane and fair way, it is also firm in seeking to deport those who have no legal right or claim to stay in New Zealand.

Another of the new issues on which New Zealand and Indonesia need to maintain a dialogue is terrorism. Since Sept. 11 New Zealand has reviewed all its counter terrorism policies and procedures, and like Indonesia, we have new counter terrorism legislation before our Parliament. Common approaches to these problems can also be advanced through the ASEAN Regional Forum.

We support Indonesia's initiative for a South-Western Pacific dialogue, which would bring Indonesia and New Zealand together with Australia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and East Timor. New Zealand was also a supporter of Indonesia becoming a dialogue partner for the Pacific Island Forum, which happened for the first time last year.

We are a developed country with a predominantly European population, which links us to North America and Europe, but our geographical location links us strongly to the Asia-Pacific, as do the growing numbers of Asian migrants to New Zealand.

We are inextricably linked to the South Pacific through the heritage of the indigenous Maori population and the significant Pacific peoples migrant populations in our country.

Our long standing advocacy for nuclear disarmament has seen us work across the old boundaries of North and South in the New Agenda grouping with Sweden, Ireland, South Africa, Egypt, Brazil, and Mexico for the elimination of nuclear weapons.

We are, in summary, a small and geographically remote nation which is determined to be internationally involved. We are an export-oriented nation which seeks to advance open trade.

It is our desire to reach outwards and build relationships which encouraged me to accept President Megawati's invitation to come to Jakarta. I want to encourage more links between our countries. We need to get to know each other better as neighbors.

What I know is that the process of democratic reform in Indonesia has created new opportunities for us to work together and for New Zealand to support the development of this country. That and our shared interest in a prosperous and stable Asia- Pacific should serve to draw us ever closer together.

The article is an excerpt of the prime minister's speech at the Jakarta Editors Club in Jakarta on May 7.