Gus Dur plans to visit Australia, NZ in April

JAKARTA (JP): April 5 is the latest date scheduled for President Abdurrahman Wahid's on again off again plans to visit Australia.

The latest date was revealed to the chairman of the Australia- Indonesia Institute, John Reid, who, after meeting with Abdurrahman at Merdeka Palace here on Monday, said the President would embark on a six-day trip to Australia and then continue on to New Zealand.

Abdurrahman is scheduled to visit Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney and Darwin, Reid said.

"The President said he wants to visit many towns so that he can meet lots of people," Reid said.

Reid described bilateral relations between Jakarta and Canberra as "dynamic and energetic".

Presidential aides made no comment on Monday regarding Reid's statement, but palace sources said that presidential staff would hold a meeting on Wednesday to hammer out details of the planned visit.

Ties between Jakarta and Canberra nosedived after Australia led an international peacekeeping force in East Timor following the UN-organized self-determination ballot in August 1999.

At the time, Jakarta angrily scrapped a mutual security treaty, and plans by Abdurrahman to visit Canberra have been repeatedly postponed due to strong domestic opposition.

Abdurrahman has visited more than 50 countries, some twice, since he took office 17 months ago and has come under fire for his frequent overseas trips at times of domestic crisis.

The President has also been under intense pressure at home to step down after the House of Representatives censured him on Feb. 1 over his alleged involvement in two financial scandals. (byg)