Indonesia state of 'contradictions'

Indonesia state of 'contradictions'

JAKARTA (JP): Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating described
Indonesia yesterday as a country of contradictions and one that
Australia needs to understand better.

During a press conference announcing the plan to sign a
defense agreement with Indonesia in Jakarta next week, Keating in
Canberra reiterated his long standing view that "no nation is
more important to us than Indonesia".

But later, according to a conference transcript made available
by the Australian embassy here, Keating noted the
"contradictions" in the opening up of Indonesian politics and the
economy, and the restrictions on the local press.

The reach of Australian television into Indonesian homes was
another example cited.

"There are satellite dishes popping up all over the country.
This is a place which doesn't have that tightness that you see in
authoritarian regimes.

"So I think we need to understand that contradiction. Yes, you
will see examples of what we believe are incursions against free
speech, but what you are also seeing is a massive opening up of
the economy and a huge deluging of that society with news and
views and information from all around the world.

"We can all nominate some exceptionally, tightly run
societies, this is not one of them," Keating said. (emb)