Importers' group postpones boycott threat
JAKARTA (JP): The Association of Indonesian Importers, which last month threatened to halt imports from Australia, beginning today, in response to a flag burning incident, announced Saturday postponement of the threat.
"The Sunday visit to Indonesia by Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating indicates that country's good intentions to improve relations with Indonesia and we do not want disrupt it," the association's chairman, Amiruddin Saud, said on Saturday.
Keating made a stopover working-visit to Indonesia on Sunday and held a meeting with President Soeharto in Bali.
"But it does not mean that we have lifted our boycott plan. We have just postpone it and we can impose it any time, depending on the situation's developments," he said without mentioning how long the association will postpone the threat against Australia.
Amiruddin said the association will wait and see if the Australian government fulfills its demand.
Last month, the association urged Canberra to expel all members of Fretilin, a pro-independent group of East Timor, from Australia after a series of Indonesian flag burning incidents. If not, imports from Australia would be stopped as of Sept. 18.
Amiruddin suspects that those who burned the red-and-white flags in Darwin and Melbourne, Australia, were Fretilin members.
Fretilin opposes the integration of East Timor, the former Portuguese colony, into Indonesia.
Influence
Amiruddin acknowledged that the decision to postpone the boycott was influenced by the results of the association's meetings with Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas, Minister of Trade Satrio B. Joedono, executives of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a number of public figures.
"We also received letter from the Australian Embassy, which enclosed statements made by Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating and Foreign Minister Gareth Evans, saying that no other country is more important to Australia than Indonesia," Amiruddin said.
"The association has no intention of harming the relations between the two countries because it was not Australians who burnt the flags, but Fretilin members," he said.
He regretted the fact that the Australian government failed to prevent the incidents, which coincided with the commemoration of the golden anniversary of Indonesia's independence.
Australian Trade Minister Bob McMullan told Antara in an interview last week that Australia hoped the Indonesian importer association would not to carry out its threat.
McMullan said that trade relations between Australia and Indonesia should not be based on political situations but on economic principles, to gain profits for both sides.
He was certain that even if the association carried out its threat, trade relations between Indonesia and Australia would go on as usual.
McMullan declined to give any comments on his government's action to fulfill the association's demand for the expulsion of Fretilin members.
Chairman of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, John Martin, was quoted by Antara as saying that the Indonesian association's threat will affect trade relations between Indonesia and Australia.
Martin admitted that he had approached the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and suggested that political situations should not affect bilateral trade.
Amiruddin said on Saturday that the planned boycott, if carried out, will not harm Indonesia's economy.
Indonesia always suffers a deficit from its trade with Australia. According to the Central Bureau for Statistics, Indonesia's imports from Australia reached US$1.54 billion last year, up by 10.2 percent, from $1.4 billion in 1993. Indonesia's exports to Australia stood at $705.4 million last year, down 8.8 percent, from $773.7 million in 1993.
"We can shift our imports from other countries," Amiruddin said.
Chairman of Taylor Bayrne International of Australia, Peter R.D. Philp, said that Australia needs Indonesia, which is the biggest market for Australian products, Antara reported. (31)