Importers threaten Australia

Importers threaten Australia

JAKARTA (JP): The Association of Indonesian importers urged
the Australian government yesterday to expel all Fretilin members
from its territory, otherwise imports from Australia would be
stopped as of Sept. 18.

"We will stop importing from Australia one month from now if
all Fretilin members are not expelled from Australia by that
time," the association's chairman, Amiruddin Saud, said
yesterday.

Amiruddin supported the demand made by many organizations here
urging the Australian government to cope with a series of
Indonesian flag burning incidents over the last few days.

Several youth groups held a demonstration in front of the
Australian embassy yesterday and burned the Australian flag, in
apparent retaliation for the Indonesian flag burning incidents in
Australia.

Fretilin is a pro-independence group for East Timor. The group
opposes the integration of East Timor, the former Portuguese
colony, into Indonesia and continues fighting for the separation
of East Timor from Indonesia.

Amiruddin suspects that those who burned the red and white
flags in Darwin and Melbourne, Australia, were members of the
Fretilin group.

AFP reported on Wednesday that pro-East Timor protesters
burned Indonesian flags in Darwin and Melbourne on Tuesday and
Wednesday, while Indonesia celebrated its 50th anniversary.

"The Indonesian people feel humiliated by the flag burning
incidents, which coincided with the golden anniversary of
Indonesia's independence," Amiruddin said.

The Indonesian flag burnings early this week were the second
series of similar incidents over the last few weeks.

In the first incident on July 29, as reported by AFP,
protesters burned an Indonesian flag in Melbourne, in protests
against the Indonesian military's involvement in the Kangaroo '95
military exercises.

Retaliation

Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas expressed
regret yesterday over the burning of an Australian flag.

"I completely understand and agree that there is an overflow
of anger, but it would be better if there were no flag burning,"
Alatas said.

Speaking to journalists after opening a photo exhibition on 50
years of Indonesian diplomacy, Alatas said that, as a nation
which upholds the dignity of its flag, Indonesians should also be
able to respect other nations' flags.

"We must show that our nation is more civilized," he added.

Alatas revealed yesterday that there was also an Indonesian
flag burned in Manila and anti-Indonesian demonstrations held at
the Indonesian Embassy in Madrid and Wellington.

Alatas said that other than expressions of regret he hoped the
respective governments of those countries would take measures to
prevent flag burning incidents in the future.

He added that Philippine ambassador, Eusubio Abaquin, has met
with the foreign ministry's director general for political
affairs, Izhar Ibrahim, and expressed regret over the incident in
Manila.

Alatas remarked that Abaquin had given him his assurances that
his government was now investigating the culprits behind the
incident.

"I know that flag burning is legal in Australia. But, it seems
to me that Australia always makes it easy for the exiled Fretilin
members to attack Indonesia. Australia must now choose whether it
wants to make friends with the majority of the Indonesian people,
or with the Fretilins," Amiruddin said.

When asked, Amiruddin assured that the planned boycott of
imports from Australia will not harm Indonesia's economy. "On the
other hand, it will do more harm to Australia's economy because
that country enjoys a large surplus of trade with Indonesia."

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 by 8.8 percent,
from $773.7 million in 1993.

He said Indonesia's imports from Australia consist mostly of
agricultural commodities, including meat, wool, cotton, milk and
fruits, all of which can be produced in Indonesia.

"We can import all of those products from other countries. We
can even produce them ourselves," Amiruddin said. "In terms of
high-tech products, we import only a small amount of machinery
from Australia. But we can also shift these purchases to other
countries, at even cheaper prices." (rid/mds/01)

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