Woolcott's 'Hot Seat'

The veteran Australian senior diplomat, my good friend Ambassador Richard "Dick" Woolcott, has published a most interesting memoir. His book: Hot Seat -- Reflections in Diplomacy from Stalin's Death to the Bali Bombing, published by HarperCollins Publishing, was launched in a festive manner in early March, in Sydney.

Unfortunately, the book contains an erroneous reference of a serious nature about The Jakarta Post daily. On page 128, Dick Woolcott mentioned an experience he had in October 1976 in Jakarta as the then Australian ambassador. One week before the arrival of Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, the ambassador gave an off the record briefing to the press, among others providing a realistic profile regarding his VIP guest from Canberra. The ambassador was disappointed that The Jakarta Post had committed "a breach of confidence" by printing on its front page the main points of his off the record briefing.

The relevant passage that Ambassador Woolcott wrote on page 128 of his recently published memoir Hot Seat reads as follows:

"Malcolm Fraser was duly elected in December 1975 and made a prime ministerial visit to Indonesia the following October. While I knew Fraser, I'd not had the opportunity to work closely with him, as I had with four of his predecessors. Tall, strangely shy, with a severe face that reminded you of those mysterious carved faces on Easter Island, he arrived with his wife Tamie at Halim airport.

"I feared that the visit would not get off to a good start. I had given a briefing to Indonesian journalists about a week beforehand in order to promote interest in the relationship and the visit. Whitlam had been a popular figure in Indonesia. Fraser was less well known and many Indonesians were still confused about Whitlam's dismissal by the governor-general. Some were also sceptical about Fraser's attitude towards Indonesia. Stressing that the briefing was an off the record discussion essentially for their background information, I told the journalists that the visit could be difficult, given Fraser's personality, the timing of the visit and the negative attitude in much of the Australian community towards Indonesia -- attitudes resulting from the death of five journalists at Balibo and Indonesia's invasion of East Timor.

"Having worked closely and cooperatively with the Australian and foreign media for over a decade without any breach of confidence, I was somewhat taken aback to read on the front page of The Jakarta Post, the day before Malcolm was due to arrive, that 'the Australian Ambassador, Richard Woolcott, said in a briefing that he was expecting some difficulties with the visit of the Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser'. The report added for good measure that Australian officials regarded him as unrelaxed, overfocused on China and difficult."

From that passage, it is apparent that Ambassador Woolcott is an eloquent writer. However, that particular passage contains one basic flaw: The Jakarta Post did not exist at the time of Prime Minister Fraser's visit in October 1976. The first edition of the newspaper came out only on April 25, 1983. I should know, because I was the Post's first chief editor, until May 1991, when I received my assignment as Ambassador to Australia.

I hope that passage will not give readers of Ambassador Woolcott's Hot Seat a wrong impression of The Jakarta Post.

SABAM SIAGIAN Jakarta