Finding a balance with Indonesia

Finding a balance with Indonesia

It is more than time for Australia and Indonesia to mend
fences, and it now appears that both nations are ready to
cooperate in the task. Just over a week ago, the relationship had
reached a new low.

These developments are promising but the road to cordiality
will not be smooth. We do need a good working relationship with
Indonesia, as Indonesia does with us. It must be based on the
pragmatic understanding that, while tensions do arise and one
party might occasionally wish the other to the ends of the earth,
the reality is that we are close neighbors and must continue to
have civil dealings.

The big obstacle is not asylum seekers but other human rights
issues. These came to a head over East Timor and Australia's
decision to send in troops to supervise the transition to
independence. A democracy such as Australia's must continue to
feel unease over Indonesia's treatment of other groups, such as
separatists in West Papua. But it is important to remember that
Indonesia has made progress towards a more democratic and open
society in recent years, not least in that Mrs Megawati and her
predecessor, Abdurrahman Wahid, were both validly elected.

Australia also needs to reflect critically on its own
contribution to the difficulties. There has been a tendency over
time to swing from one extreme to another. Australia's stance
towards Suharto was characterised by a sometimes too-deferential
reluctance to confront Jakarta. After the East Timor
intervention, however, the national pride over Australia's role
and the performance of its troops and their commander developed
into a kind of triumphalism that could only irritate Indonesia.
There is a middle way, in which Australia quietly holds its
ground over the issues that matter but handles mutual differences
sensitively. We should have the kind of relationship that allows
us to deal with asylum seekers and other problems in a
cooperative way that benefits both countries.

-- The Age, Melbourne