Indonesia and Australia start patching up strained ties

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia and Australia began patching up their tattered relationship on Monday, but officials here admitted it would take time before ties between the two countries again reached intimacy.

President Abdurrahman Wahid told visiting Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Downer here on Monday that Jakarta was committed to restoring ties, but more time was needed to heal the wounds of the diplomatic row.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab, who accompanied the President during the meeting with Downer, quoted the President as saying that both sides should learn from their past mistakes.

"We're trying to relieve the pain. It will take time, but the most important thing is we have the spirit of reconciliation," Alwi said after the meeting at Bina Graha presidential office.

But Alwi had no qualms in placing the lion's share of the blame for the soured ties on Australia.

"It takes time to repair the relationship, which has been damaged during the past few months by official statements from Australia," he told journalists.

Separately Downer described his 45-minute meeting with Abdurrahman as fruitful.

He expressed optimism that close ties could be restored, as sides recognize the common range of interests between them.

"We have been through a difficult period. We want now to look to the future and rebuild the relationship in a constructive way," said Downer, who became the first top Australian official to meet with Abdurrahman since his election in October.

Jakarta and Canberra, particularly during the tenure of former prime minister Paul Keating, previously enjoyed a very warm relationship.

However, ties quickly deteriorated over the situation in East Timor.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard sent a letter to then president B.J. Habibie in December 1998 informing him of Canberra's change of policy concerning East Timor. According to officials at the time, the letter infuriated Habibie.

Australia then enraged many Indonesians by taking what was seen as an overzealous approach in its support of independence for East Timor, and its desire to lead a multinational force to the former Indonesian province.

After his election, Abdurrahman brushed Canberra aside, saying he did not want to visit Australia until its leaders stopped being childish.

The President was particularly displeased by accusations that Indonesia was being used as a transit point for illegal aliens entering Australia.

Downer on Monday seemed to focus on the future rather than the past. "Our two countries had different views at that time and things happened ... There is not much point getting into a debate about the history of it now."

On a possible visit by Abdurrahman to Australia, Alwi said the President would at some point go there. "I have many friends there," Alwi quoted the President as telling Downer.

Discussing Jakarta's efforts to avoid an international tribunal on alleged human rights abuses in East Timor following the Aug. 30 ballot, Downer indicated Australia's support for Indonesia's internal investigation if it truly served justice.

"We would look first to Indonesia's domestic process to run and ensure that those responsible for violence and abuses of human rights be brought to justice," he said, adding that Jakarta so far had shown its seriousness in investigating rights violations. (prb)