Gus Dur to go ahead with Australian visit on Sunday

Gus Dur to go ahead with Australian visit on Sunday

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid will go ahead with
his visit to Australia and two other countries this week,
Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab announced on Monday.

Speaking to journalists after the induction of five new
Indonesian ambassadors at the State Palace, Alwi contended it was
impossible to cancel the trip, as the President had repeatedly
postponed his visit to Australia.

"The President can no longer postpone his trip to Australia on
June 24, because he rescheduled his planned visit there five
times in the past," the minister said.

Australia was among the first countries Abdurrahman planned to
travel to when he became president in October 1999.

However, domestic opposition to the trip, particularly from
legislators, forced him to postpone his previously scheduled
visits. The last cancellation was in early April.

Last week, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said
he welcomed Abdurrahman's plan to visit despite the political
uncertainty he faced at home.

He praised the planned trip as proof of Abdurrahman's genuine
intent to bolster ties between Jakarta and Canberra.

Ties between the two countries were jarred in late 1999
following the events which transpired in the former Indonesian
province of East Timor.

Alwi said on Monday that during the trip to Australia, the
President would discuss a general array of economic issues.

"There are several things which need to be followed up," Alwi
said.

Meanwhile, Wahyu Muryadi, presidential protocol bureau chief,
said the President would only bring a small entourage with him to
Australia because of budget limitations.

He said the President would stay a few days in Canberra and
several other cities in Australia before flying to Christchurch
in New Zealand, where he was scheduled to stay for one night.

"On the way back to Jakarta, the President will make a brief
stopover in Manila on June 30," Wahyu told The Jakarta Post.
(prb)