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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