Indonesia-Australia ties after the fray

Indonesia-Australia ties after the fray

By Jusuf Wanandi

JAKARTA (JP): Relations between Australia and Indonesia
plunged after the East Timorese atrocities caused by the
prointegration militia and supported by elements of the
Indonesian Military. Intervention by the Australian Army
prevented them from causing greater damage; the latter was
possible with the support of the UN Security Council and the
consent of the Indonesian government.

In hindsight it could therefore be argued that Australia has
not only helped the East Timorese from experiencing further
misery, but also limited the damage to Indonesia's respectability
in the international community. This is, of course, not the way
the Indonesian public and especially the Indonesian Military sees
the matter.

It should be recognized by Australians that their leader's
rhetoric and the way the military actions were undertaken were
excessive and arrogant. They inevitably hurt the feelings of a
lot of Indonesians. The style and the rhetoric were what angered
Indonesians and what they reacted against.

Yet it was not a deep-seated feeling. With the exception of
some of the youth instigated by the Indonesian Military, it was
quickly understood by the public that the atrocities committed by
the militia with the support of some elements of the Indonesian
Army were terrible.

As they were the cause of the intervention, the atrocities
have become the center of public attention and the target of
investigation by the National Committee on Human Rights. The
committee has been active and courageous in investigating the
abuses and atrocities.

Anger toward Australia also is not deep-seated because East
Timor was always a fiefdom of the Indonesian Army and the
Indonesian public was always kept more or less in the dark about
its developments.

The Indonesian public as such does not feel a deep and
emotional attachment to East Timor. Therefore, while the
separation was painful and hurt the Indonesian psyche when it
happened, the feeling will not last for too long.

If Indonesians can make an honest analysis of the events and
undergo self-criticism, it will be much easier to recognize that
this painful episode in bilateral ties should not become a great
stumbling block for a healthy relationship and intensive
cooperation between close neighbors such as Indonesia and
Australia.

This is critical not only for peace, security and prosperity
of both nations, which is a paramount reason for the
relationship, but also for creating regional order and
strengthening regional institutions within the Asia Pacific.
These include the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC),
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and ASEAN Regional Forum
(ARF), as well as the Council for Security Cooperation in the
Asia Pacific region (CSCAP) which were established and promoted
through cooperation between the two countries.

Now that Indonesia is in the process of democratization, the
relations between the two countries will be much deeper and
sustainable because so many leaders, people and institutions have
to be involved to make it work.

It is also the guarantee that it will also be more rewarding
for both despite the complexities and sometimes the criticism
that one has to endure in democracies about the relationship. In
that light, efforts to restore and balance the relationship have
to be lauded.

One such effort was the series of discussions and interviews
organized by the AustralAsia Centre of the Asia Society, under
the leadership of Ambassador Richard Woolcott, in early May in
Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. They were attended by more than 250
business and media people, academics and officials.

In addition to the author, in his capacity as a director of
the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, two other
Indonesians participated: Bambang Harymurti, editor-in-chief of
Tempo magazine and Djisman Simandjuntak, executive director of
Prasetiya Mulya Graduate School of Management. The group has
shown friendship to Australia by simply being honest about the
relationship and about developments in Indonesia.

The effort was well-received and reciprocated by the
Australians in attendance and through their active participation.
The meetings and discussions attest to the great reservoir of
goodwill Indonesia still has among Australian leaders and opinion
makers.

They also were not hesitant in questioning and criticizing the
unwillingness of their own government under Prime Minister John
Howard to reach out and support the budding democratic government
of President Abdurrahman Wahid, who still needs a lot of goodwill
and assistance from a close neighbor such as Australia.

The writer is chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Centre
for Strategic and International Studies, Jakarta.