Indonesia-Aussie relations

Indonesia-Aussie relations

This letter is in regards to the recent events between
Indonesia and Australia. I am an Englishman now living in Sydney,
Australia, as an Australian citizen. I have traveled to many
places in the world and lived and worked in other countries. I
have also lived and worked for a short while in Indonesia,
primarily in Jakarta, but have also traveled to other parts of
Indonesia.

I greatly enjoyed my time in Indonesia and have friends I keep
in touch with. I think Indonesia is a very beautiful country. It
is a very stable and well organized country and the people are
friendly and happy and hardworking. The many things I have
learned about Indonesian history and diversity confirms my
feelings.

Indonesia is rapidly emerging as a major commercial and social
force in Asia. This is widely recognized by other Asian and non-
Asian nations. I enjoyed it so much that I would greatly like to
work further in Indonesia, with Indonesian people, and help to
progress this development.

However, I am concerned about recent news events which may
disturb the friendly relations between our two countries and
peoples. I am not involved in politics and hope the politicians
can sort out their own issues. What I would like to express is my
strong support for a continued and growing friendly relationship
between the people of Indonesia and the people of Australia.

We have much in common and we are very close neighbors. While
we may have some minor differences and, like all other countries,
have problems of one sort or another, we must try and build on
common things and understand our differences. Let us work
together to help each other resolve our problems and differences
in a low key and friendly way, not with any confrontation.

It is easy to break something but difficult to make something
of value. We need to calmly handle the minor problems and get on
with the task of continuing to establish a sound friendship
between our two nations. There are bigger issues of a
constructive nature we need to concentrate our energies on.

C.J. PARKES

Sydney, Australia