Open letter to RI and Australia

Open letter to RI and Australia

This open letter has the support of many speakers and
participants in the 17th Indonesia Update held at the Australian
National University from Sept. 24 to Sept. 25, 1999. This annual
event which brings together academics, public servants,
businesspeople and citizens from Australia and Indonesia, is an
important forum for analysis, discussion and dialog. We take this
action in response to the urgent and worsening crisis between our
two countries.

So, we would like to appeal to the governments and peoples of
Australia and Indonesia as follows:

We Indonesian and Australian colleagues, sharing a commitment
to open, democratic societies and to the welfare of all people in
our two countries, are gravely concerned at the rapid
deterioration in relations between Australia and Indonesia.

We call upon our two governments, media and citizens to
conduct themselves in a spirit of tolerance and restraint, and in
particular:

* to maintain open and trustful channels of communication and
cooperation;

* to promote reconciliation and to refrain from threats,
sanctions and abusive and hostile acts toward one another;

* to continue existing projects of development cooperation and
exchange;

* jointly, in cooperation with other neighboring countries and
under the auspices of the United Nations, to implement in good
faith the May 5 New York agreement toward East Timor's
independence.

Without underestimating the seriousness of current problems,
we urge that a broad and harmonious relationship should remain
our long-term goal for a common future as neighbors, to help
Indonesians to succeed in their struggle toward an open and
democratic society, and to serve as a cornerstone of peace and
stability in Southeast Asia.

JAMES J FOX

Director

Institute of Advanced Studies

Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies

Canberra