Neighbors should be friends

Neighbors should be friends

If trouble is brewing between two neighboring countries they
should immediately look for ways to settle the dispute in a
mature and responsible way.

Indonesia is presently facing a dispute with neighbor Malaysia
on the issue of Indonesian guest workers who have been accused by
the Malaysian government of causing trouble by rioting against
the police because they are treated inhumanely.

It is unthinkable and undesirable that the trouble will
develop into a diplomatic row, given the fact that culturally the
people of the two countries are so closely knit. Another factor
to be taken into consideration is that both have pledged to
uphold the ASEAN spirit of solidarity. A crisis may sometimes
come in the way of bilateral relations between neighboring
countries, but sooner or later they have to shake hands again
through tireless dialogue and mutual understanding of each
other's problems. In the case of Indonesia and Malaysia, they
need each other because they are neighbors and friends.

The same actually applies to Indonesia and another of its
neighbors, Australia, even though they are culturally very
different. But boycotting the visit by Australian Prime Minister
John Howard to Indonesia by legislators, while he is an official
guest of President Megawati Soekarnoputri, is indeed a diplomatic
blunder, although politically these legislators are perhaps eager
to show off their nationalistic clout. Unlike in the case of
relations between real neighbors, you need not love the leader of
a neighboring country or shake hands with them. But offending a
state guest surely does not reflect political maturity.

Of paramount consideration in bilateral relations should be
that the two neighbors need each other. In the case of Australia,
one should consider the great number of Indonesian students in
Australia and that country's contribution in the past to advance
the cause of the people of Indonesia. And remember that
politicians rarely mean what they say and say what they mean, for
better or for worse. And John Howard is not an exception!

GANDHI SUKARDI

Jakarta