Hanson's views a threat to Aussie-RI ties
Hanson's views a threat to Aussie-RI ties
JAKARTA (JP): Visiting Australian trade minister Mark Vaile
on Thursday maintained that Canberra does not endorse the
statements of Australian far-right politician Pauline Hanson,
warning that her remarks could damage bilateral relations.
"We (the Australian government) will continue to oppose those
policies as we have done in the past," Vaile told journalists
after meeting with President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid.
Vaile said Hanson's calls for a halt of Australian aid to
Jakarta could have "a detrimental effect" on economic and trade
relationships between Indonesia and Australia "if they turn into
policies."
Hanson, leader of the One Nation party, which advocates the
cessation of Asian migration to Australia, is trying to make a
political comeback in Australia.
"I think we've made it very clear that the views held by some
in Australia are not the views of the majority," Vaile said.
Vaile also said that the President, "has reaffirmed that he
will be visiting Australia in April."
"President Wahid indicated to us he saw it very clearly that
after something like 13 prime ministerial visits from Australia
to Indonesia since the last (Indonesian) presidential visit to
Australia ... it was time that Indonesia reciprocated," he said.
Hanson said in Sydney on Thursday that Australia should halt
all assistance to Indonesia "because they've openly burnt the
Australian flag".
She was referring to protests outside the Australian embassy
in Jakarta in 1999 in the wake of the deployment of Australian
peacekeeping troops in East Timor.
Indonesian Trade and Industry Minister Luhut Panjaitan, who
was also present on Thursday, played down Hanson's comments
saying that Jakarta "is only listening to official statements
from the Australian government".
"I don't see them (Hanson's views) as a problem. Trading is
trading and so far President Gus Dur and Prime Minister (John
Howard) have good contact, so I think that is the bottom line,"
Luhut said.
Vaile is in Indonesia leading a delegation of representatives
from 16 Australian companies, who have total investments worth
six billion Australian dollars in Indonesia.
"We're looking at a further 1.3 billion dollars worth of
investment in Indonesia," he claimed.
Later in the day, Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab said five of
Abdurrahman's foreign economic advisors were expected to meet
with the President on Saturday.
They include Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, the
former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, former
Japanese ambassador to the United States Nobuo Matsunaga and
French banker Marc Vienot.
Two other advisors, Saudi Arabia's Saleh Kamil and former U.S.
secretary of state Henry Kissinger, will not attend the meeting,
Alwi said. (byg)