[Kabar-indonesia] SBY-Howard meeting 'may be testy' - Analysts

[Joyo at aol.com]

also: PM should push for Indonesia JI ban: ALP

Indonesia, Australia leaders face tough meeting

Marianne Kearney

JAKARTA, June 25 (AFP) -- Indonesia and Australia's
sometimes chilly relationship has thawed in recent
weeks, but Monday's meeting between the two nations'
leaders aimed at healing a recent rift is still likely
to be tense.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard is due to meet
his Indonesian counterpart on the island of Batam for
the first time since Australia granted temporary
protection visas to 42 Papuans in March, infuriating
Jakarta.

Indonesia saw the move as showing Australian support
for an independent Papua and withdrew its ambassador
from Canberra in retaliation.

Canberra then proposed toughening its immigration laws
so that asylum-seekers arriving in Australia by boat
would be sent to remote Pacific Island camps while
their claims are processed -- a move critics of Howard
say was supposed to pacify President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono.

The gesture was sufficient for Jakarta to send back
its envoy but a backbench revolt last week forced
Howard to make concessions and delay the legislation,
which leaves the premier empty-handed for the meeting.

Australians have meanwhile been left incensed by the
release from jail this month of radical Islamic cleric
Abu Bakar Bashir, the alleged spiritual leader of
extremist Islamic group Jemaah Islamiyah.

Bashir had served less than 26 months for conspiracy
over the 2002 Bali bombings which killed 202 people,
including 88 Australians.

Howard has written to Yudhoyono to note that the UN
Security Council had listed the cleric as a terrorist
and that he was subject to an assets freeze,
restricted travel and a ban on accessing arms.

He has also said he would tell the Indonesian
president of Australian anger over Bashir's release.

Unsurprisingly then, analysts predict the meeting --
still yet to be confirmed amid reported wrangling over
a bilateral statement to be signed -- may be testy.

Besides that statement, a security agreement is
supposed to be discussed in which Australia has said
it would formally recognise Indonesia's sovereignty
over Papua.

"There will be some tensions. There are some crucial
issues, especially asylum for Papuans," said
Jakarta-based political analyst Umar Juoro.

Yudhoyono is under pressure from nationalist
legislators who say the immigration amendments still
fail to go far enough to prevent future Papuan
refugees being granted asylum in Australia, he noted.

If the immigration legislation is watered down or not
passed, "members of parliament will call on the
president to withdraw the ambassador and the
relationship will be difficult again," Juoro warned.

Muhammad Qodari, an analyst from polling agency the
Indonesian Survey Circle, said Australia had to battle
negative perceptions from its northern neighbour.

"There are always some suspicions about Australia.
Geographically it is part of Asia, but it has
psychological distance," he told AFP.

"It is perceived as playing a part in getting Timor
away from Indonesia -- now they learn that Australia
is trying to help secessionists in Papua," he said,
referring to East Timor's 1999 independence vote which
Australia backed.

"Australia and Indonesia have a love-hate
relationship. When Australia granted visas to Papuans,
hate came up."

Howard meanwhile treads a fine line between keeping
onside Indonesia, an important ally in anti-terror
co-operation, and being seen as kow-towing to Jakarta.

"It is a very difficult relationship," Howard
reportedly said recently.

And besides criticism at home over the immigration
legislation, Howard is also facing pressure to push
Indonesia harder over Bashir.

"Indonesia expects Australia to be sensitive to
Indonesian concerns when it comes to questions over
Papua," opposition foreign affairs spokesman Kevin
Rudd said earlier this month.

"I think it's important for Indonesia to be sensitive
to Australia's concerns over matters concerning Abu
Bakar Bashir and Jemaah Islamiyah."

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PM should push for Indonesia JI ban: ALP

CANBERRA, June 25 (AAP) -- Prime Minister John Howard
should ask Indonesia to ban the terrorist group Jemaah
Islamiah, says opposition foreign affairs spokesman
Kevin Rudd.

Prime Minister John Howard should ask Indonesia to ban
the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah, says opposition
foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd.

Mr Rudd said the Labor party supported Mr Howard's
meeting with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono because the relationship with Indonesia was
so important.

"This is an important bilateral relationship and on
that there is bipartisan support in Australia and we
wish the prime minister well.

We believe this relationship should be a two-way
street, which takes into account Australia's interest
and one which takes into account Indonesia's interest
as well.

The relationship was put under strain earlier this
year when Australia granted temporary protection visas
to 42 Papuan asylum seekers.

And Australia was unhappy after Indonesia recently
released Jemaah Islamiah's (JI) spiritual head Abu
Bakar Bashir from prison.

The firebrand cleric, convicted of involvement in the
first Bali bombings, earlier this month completed a 25
month jail term for giving blessings as leader of JI
to the attacks which killed 202 people, including 88
Australians.

Mr Rudd said that Mr Howard must ask President
Yudhoyono to put Bashir under 24 hour surveillance and
ban JI.

"What I'm requesting of the prime minister is that he
request of President Yudhoyono that Bashir be put
under 24 hour a day surveillance," Mr Rudd told the
Nine Network.

"That if there is any outbreak of anti-Australia or
anti-western sentiment or hatred in these schools that
this guy runs in Java, that they be shut down.

"And thirdly, that Indonesia be asked finally to ban
this organisation Jemaah Islamiah as the United
Nations and many other nations have done."

He also said Mr Howard should ask the US to give the
Indonesians access to Bali bombing mastermind and
senior al-Qaeda operative Riduan Isamuddin Hambali, so
they could put Bashir back behind bars.

"A challenge for the Prime Minister is this: if we're
serious about putting Abu Bakar Bashir being bars once
and for all what can he now do with the Americans, and
what has he done with the Americans, to gain access
for the Indonesians for this key witness," he said.

Mr Rudd said Mr Howard must explain to Indonesia
Australia's need to balance our obligations to
Indonesia with our obligations to refugees.

He said the government's proposed new immigration
laws, which would mean all asylum seekers who arrive
by boat would be processed offshore, did not get the
balance right.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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