Indonesia's ministerial talks with Australia hit another snag

December 7, 2000
Web posted at: 12:48 PM HKT (0448 GMT)

By CNN Staff
and Reuters

CANBERRA, Australia -- Ministerial talks between Indonesia and Australia hit a last-minute snag today, being postponed only minutes before they were to begin at 11.05am (Australian eastern daylight time).

The talks were re-scheduled to 3.30pm today after Indonesia requested the postponement.

No reason was given for the delay, but an Australian Foreign Affairs official told CNN it was probably to allow ministers to be briefed by Australian-based Indonesian representatives before talks began. He added that the ministers had arrived late yesterday in Australia and most likely needed extra time to prepare themselves.

The official said there would be a statement on today's talks released tomorrow morning.

The talks, originally scheduled for October, are aimed at repairing a bilateral relationship badly damaged by Australia's decision to lead a multinational force to East Timor.

Australia hopes the talks, already twice delayed, will pave the way for a similarly on-again, off-again visit by Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, who faces emotional opposition in Jakarta to any restoration of relations with Canberra.

Indonesian legislators and many opinion leaders are angry at Australia for leading the U.N.-mandated force into East Timor in 1999 after pro-Jakarta militias went on a rampage of violence following a vote for independence from Indonesia.

They have also accused Australia of supporting West Papua's independence push. Canberra denies the charge.

"Any further fragmentation of an Indonesian state...would be the last thing that Australia wants," Defense Minister John Moore, who will attend today's meeting, told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio.

"It's much better for Australia to have the current state of Indonesia to succeed ... we are very concerned about maintaining good relations with Indonesia," Moore said.

The scheduled Canberra talks will be the highest level bilateral meeting since relations plunged after the East Timor crisis.

Australian foreign officials said they could not confirm which Indonesian ministers would attend, but said up to six were expected. An agenda of the meeting showed Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab and Trade Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan were expected, along with "other Indonesian ministers."

Media reports in Jakarta have said chief economics minister Rizal Ramli, along with both foreign ministers would attend.

The forum is also seen as a chance for Canberra to allay concerns that Australia is bolstering its defenses because of perceived threats from Indonesia.

Indonesian officials were briefed last week in Jakarta on Australia's new defense policy paper, unveiled yesterday, and Moore hopes to rebuild defense links between the two countries.

The links, which used to include a much vaunted security agreement brokered by former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating, collapsed under the weight of the East Timor issue.

But Australia's commitment to a continued presence in East Timor threatens to maintain the chill in relations.

"Clearly we've got a responsibility in East Timor until such time as the United Nations withdraw from that as an independent nation," Moore said.

"Even then, we've indicated we're prepared to train a domestic security force within East Timor, so we'll have responsibilities there as I can see for some time."

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