Howard visit to RI takes media spotlight in Australia

Howard visit to RI takes media spotlight in Australia

By Clay Lucas

MELBOURNE (JP): On Sept. 9, Australian Prime Minister John
Howard stood on the steps of the Presidential Palace in Jakarta
to receive an official salute from the Indonesian government.

The guns stopped firing at their 19th shot, instead of the 21
normally reserved for heads of state.

Although the official explanation for this shortfall was that
Howard is not the Australian head of state, the restrained
enthusiasm shown by the Indonesian government was reflected in
media coverage back in Australia.

This is the Australian leader's first journey overseas, having
been elected to office in March this year. Given the
exceptionally strong relationship between his predecessor Paul
Keating and President Soeharto, there was pressure for Howard's
visit to be a success.

Howard is not a strong foreign affairs proponent, according to
Tom Burton from The Australian Financial Review. This is in
contrast to his predecessors, in particular, Keating.

The Queensland Brisbane Courier Mail described the messages
Howard was sending both the Indonesian government and the
Australian people as bewildering.

Prior to the March election in Australia, Howard promised a
continuing development of the relationship between Australia and
Indonesia. Yet in Jakarta, Howard stated that he "did not see
Australia as a bridge between Asia and the West as is sometimes
suggested".

The Australian Financial Review observed that this flatly
contradicted statements made by Foreign Affairs Minister
Alexander Downer earlier, and that the concept of Australia as a
base for Western investment in Asia had been one of the key
features of recent Australian trade and foreign policy in the
area.

Howard was forced to quickly clarify his views on Australia's
place in Asia by stating that his government would continue to
support Western companies attempting to expand their business
into Asia.

Several newspapers, including The Age in Melbourne, saw
Howard's statement as designed to bring a sharp distinction
between his own view of the area and those of his predecessor
Paul Keating, whose flamboyant presence became well-known to many
Indonesians.

There was an undercurrent of disappointment that Howard did
not attempt to refocus or reenergize the relationships between
the two countries and the prime minister's assertions that
Australia did not claim to be Asian, and that Australia was not
under pressure to choose between its geography and its Western
history, were viewed as unnecessarily inflammatory by The
Australian.

The Sydney Morning Herald observed that this break with
previous policy direction was designed to draw a clear line
between the previous Australian government, which had done all
within its power to push the idea of Australia as a presence in
the Asia-Pacific region, and the Howard government.

One point of interest picked up on by all mainstream media was
that the strengthening of the relationship with Indonesia was now
a state goal of both sides of the Australian political spectrum.

The view that Howard was not overly concerned with what his
Indonesian hosts thought was strongly raised in several
newspapers. A number of commentators, including The Australian
newspaper's Jakarta correspondent, Patrick Walters, saw Howard's
visit aimed at a domestic Australian audience, rather than his
Indonesian hosts.

An Age journalist observed that Howard's Jakarta speeches told
far more about his own view of Australia than any thoughts he
might have for the potential development of the relationship
between the two countries.

Howard's refusal to raise the issue of human rights was seen
as a failing by many sections of the media. Howard has at all
times made it clear he refuses to see human rights as an issue in
Australia's relations with Indonesia.

Financial Review journalist Greg Earl expressed the view that
the Howard government had absolutely no intention of embarking on
opening a new chapter in Australia's approach to human rights and
political reform in Indonesia.

Howard's refusal to comment on issues such as East Timor and
the July 27 riots were seen as predictable, yet disappointing.
The possibility of Howard establishing links to alternative
political forces was also raised, and there was disappointment
expressed in all newspapers that concerns about the treatment of
opposition figure Megawati Soekarnoputri had not been raised.

Howard's description of President Soeharto as a "very skilled
and sensitive national leader" brought down the ire of some of
Australia's key human rights groups. It should be said, however,
that few elements of the media had expected Howard to raise the
issue of human rights abuses by the Indonesian government.