RI, Aussie senior editors meet to discuss coverage

RI, Aussie senior editors meet to discuss coverage

SYDNEY (JP): Senior Indonesian and Australian editors met here yesterday to review some of the problems related to their coverage of the other's country.

Steve Harris of the Herald and Weekly Times underlined the wide disparity in the way the government and the people in Australia look at Indonesia.

"Many Australian people still see Indonesia as the chief enemy," Harris said as reported by Ratih Hardjono, Kompas correspondent in Australia.

One of the questions posed by Indonesian delegates to the meeting concerned the way the Australian media cover East Timor. They said the coverage has not been objective.

The Australian participants were divided on the issue. One camp said they did not see any problem in the way they covered East Timor, while another admitted that their coverage had not been fair.

Paul Kelly of The Australian pointed out that the discussion about East Timor was an indication that there was a problem in the way Australia treats East Timor and the issue, therefore, requires further attention and thoughts.

The meeting was organized by the Australia-Indonesia Institute and chaired by its director Richard Woollcott. This is the second meeting between senior Indonesian and Australian editors. The first one was held in 1989, also in Sydney.

Among the nine Indonesian editors taking part were Jakob Oetama of Kompas, Parni Hadi of Republika, Dahlan Iskan of the Jawa Pos, Sutrisna of Suara Merdeka and Aristides Katoppo of Suara Pembaruan.

Australia was represented by 12 editors, including John Lyons of The Sydney Morning Herald, Michael Gawenda of The Age and Jack Waterford of The Canberra Times.

Jakob of Kompas related the problems Indonesian editors have in reporting on Australia because they still have difficulties in obtaining a clear perception of the Australian people.

He said that the increasing realization that Indonesia and Australia have many common interests will motivate both countries to strengthen their relations.