Indonesian, Australian NGOs meet to address common problems

Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A group of leading Australian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) met for the first time with their Indonesian counterparts here, in order to foster ties among community leaders and to go beyond the often turbulent political relationship between the two neighboring countries.

The visiting Australian community leaders represent four major Australian NGOs focusing on workers issues, the environment, social service and consumers. They left on Wednesday after a three-day visit.

Head of the delegation Julian Disney said Indonesia was one of Australia's important neighbors, yet contact between their community leaders had been scant.

"There is a special responsibility for us in Australia, and maybe for other countries, to really get to understand the circumstances of their immediate neighbors," Disney, who initiated the visit, said on Tuesday.

Contact among related NGOs between the two countries were common, he explained, but this visit broadened the relationships to cross the paths of NGOs and community leaders.

Members of the Australian delegation consisted of: Australian Council of Trade president Sharan Burrow; Australian Conservation Foundation executive director Don Henry; Australian Council of Social Service executive director Megan Mitchell; and Australian Consumers Association chief executive Louise Sylvan. They were the highest-level group of Australian community leaders to have ever visited Indonesia.

The delegation met with the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI), the Indonesian Environmental Forum (WALHI), the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC) and the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID), among others.

They also met community leaders and experts such as woman activist Nursyahbani Katjasungkana, Tempo chief editor Bambang Harymurti, political analyst Dewi Fortuna Anwar and rector of Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) Azra Azyumardi.

Disney said the meetings showed that civil groups in both countries were dealing with similar problems, while sharing others.

For example, both countries relied on the same marine resources. Henry explained that the same fish stock moved between Indonesian and Australian waters.

"So we've got a shared responsibility to look after the environment that we both share and we both rely on," he said.

WALHI chairman Longgena Ginting said the two countries' environmental groups hoped to promote the principles of ethical investment jointly among Australian mining companies in Indonesia.

"We also want to encourage Australian companies to buy forest products from environment-conscious companies here, and not from illegal loggers," he said.

UIN's Azyumardi welcomed the visit by the Australians.

He said he met them at the university, where they talked about improving the quality of education at traditional Muslim boarding schools and other issues.

"They were surprised to see the openness of our education here (at UIN) and the progressive Islam we teach -- it's more liberal," the rector said.

The visit by Australian community leaders is part of Disney's Neighbors Program, under which the delegation would proceed to visit their Malaysian counterparts.

Their arrival in Indonesia came at a time when the tension was starting to ease from the countries' different stances in regards the Iraq crisis.

Such strains are common, however, and is an example of the volatility that remains at the political level. The two governments have, at times, differed on issues like people smuggling, terrorism, Papua and most critically, on East Timor.

The idea to strengthen their relationship at the community level was initiated two years ago, said Disney.

"Relationships between neighboring countries and peoples are too important to be left to governments and business leaders," he explained in an earlier statement.

Globalization, he said, had shown how interdependent nations were, so that knowing one's immediate neighbors was important.

In Australia, the younger generation had become increasingly open toward their Asian neighbors, he said.

He allayed concerns that Australia was distancing itself from its Asian neighbors and clinging on to its Anglo-Saxon roots.

"We think there is a clear long-term trend, which is clearly positive in Australia, toward more engagement with Asia," Disney said.

Still, apprehension existed on both sides, he added, and pointed out cultural differences and to some extent, a sensationalist media, as part of the problem.

Disney noted a trace of arrogance among Australians, while some Asians were not keen to accept Australians as Asians.

Even the delegation's visit here was tainted by talk that the delegation members were supporters of Papua and would meddle in Indonesia's internal affairs. Disney dismissed the reports as rumors to discredit the visit.

"The fact that they (apprehensions) are not as bad as they might have been, is a sign that there is a growing recognition in both countries, a growing breadth of understanding of each other's community," he added.

He said that during the meeting, the NGOs agreed to use the annual Indonesian-Australian ministerial meetings as a framework for exploring areas of cooperation. The ministerial meetings cover issues on the environment, trade, health, agriculture and science.

Henry said they also agreed to participate in the meetings, noting that so far, only business representatives had been invited.

Azyumardi said it was high time for both countries' civil groups to come together, reasoning that while governments may come and go, relationships between people were permanent.

WALHI's Longgena said that the Indonesian NGOs hoped to repay the visit by meeting the delegates in Australia in September.