Gus Dur, Howard discuss bilateral ties

By Kornelius Purba

NEW YORK (JP): President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid and Australian Prime Minister John Howard held bilateral talks here on Tuesday to further patch-up jarred relations between the two countries.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the United Nations Millennium Summit which both leaders were attending.

According to an official statement by Indonesia's Permanent Representative Office to the UN, President Abdurrahman Wahid "indicated" during the meeting that he might visit Australia in October.

Abdurrahman has postponed planned visits to that country several times due to lingering feelings of displeasure among several politicians due to the East Timor debacle last year.

Discussion on the former province of East Timor occupied a large portion of the meeting between the two leaders.

There was also talk of a possible high-level meeting between Abdurrahman, Howard, the Portuguese leader and East Timor's leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao in Jakarta soon after the October visit.

The meeting would be focused on the latest developments in East Timor and the reconstruction of the territory.

Diplomatic relations between Jakarta and Canberra took a dive following what many in Indonesia saw as Australia's overzealous support for East Timorese independence, despite having strongly supported the territory's integration into Indonesia for several years.

While there have been signs that ties have been improving in recent months, the fact that Abdurrahman has had to postpone planned visits to Australia still shows there is resistance in some sections of Indonesian society.

The issue has been exasperated further by the continuing issue of East Timorese refugees in the western part of Timor island and allegations that the Indonesian military is not doing enough to stop militia activity.

Officials said Abdurrahman and Howard briefly discussed moving "hardliners" in West Timor to other parts of Indonesia.

But the still somewhat strained relations were again at issue during the meeting at the Regal UN Plaza Hotel, as Howard expressed concern that the appointment of Australia's Ambassador- designate Rick Smith has not been approved by the House of Representatives.

"Howard told the President to accelerate the accreditation of the new ambassador as the incumbent Ambassador John McCarthy has finished his working term in Jakarta," said a source close to the meeting.

Sophan Sophian, a legislator from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), who accompanied Abdurrahman along with legislator Raja Kami Sembiring from the same faction and political observer Arbi Sanit, during his 12-day overseas trip, confirmed that Howard expressed concern over the delay.

A constitutional amendment now requires that ambassadorial nominees to Jakarta receive the approval of the House. Several legislators had earlier said they were still pending approval of the Australian ambassador because there were certain issues that they wanted to look at.

Howard himself was reluctant to talk to Indonesian journalists after the meeting, saying he would hold a separate press conference later on.

Indonesian officials, including Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab and State Secretary Djohan Effendy, who also attended the meeting also refused to talk to journalists.

Earlier in the morning Abdurrahman had breakfast with financier George Soros.

Soros described the meeting as a private one, and hinted he did not closely follow Indonesia's economic situation.

"I have no major investments in Indonesia," he said.

Sophan, who also attended the breakfast, however, disclosed that Soros expressed disappointment over the new Cabinet, especially with the economic team as it was not market friendly.

"Soros told Gus Dur that our economic team was not so credible," Sophan said referring to the President.

Soros explicitly mentioned the name of Minister of Finance Prijadi Praptosuhardjo and also asked the President about his reasons for sacking Laksamana Sukardi as state minister of investment in April, said Sophan.

"Gus Dur said that Soros had received only one-sided information. That is why he asked Soros to come to Indonesia. Soros may come to Jakarta this month," said Sophan.