[Kabar-indonesia] 7 articles: Indonesia, Australia sign landmark treaty [SMH; AFR; ABC]

[Joyo at aol.com]

7 articles:

- Indonesia, Australia sign landmark treaty

- Indonesia-Australia sign historic security pact

- ABC: Labor cautiously welcomes security pact

- SMH Analysis: Envoys shake hands across our prickly
  northern fence

- AFR: Security pact with clause for concern [Op-Ed by
  Harold Crouch]

- AFR Editorial: Treaty puts relations in their true light

- The Advertiser: Lombok treaty can help heal old wounds

Indonesia, Australia sign landmark treaty

JAKARTA, November 13 (AFP) -- Indonesia and Australia on
Monday signed a landmark security treaty aimed at smoothing
often thorny relations between the two neighbours.

The treaty includes a key Indonesian demand that Australia
will not support separatist causes in the sprawling
archipelago, after Jakarta tore up a previous pact over
Canberra's support for independence for East Timor.

"The treaty was signed by Foreign Minister (Hassan) Wirayuda
and Foreign Minister (Alexander) Downer at 7:15 pm (1115
GMT)," Indonesian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Desra Percaya
told AFP from Lombok, an island just east of Bali, where the
signing took place.

"Everything discussed went in line with what was planned,"
he added.

Percaya could not immediately give more details.

But the foreign ministry's website quoted Wirayuda as having
said here that the agreement contained several key
principles to strengthen Indonesia's and Australia's
bilateral ties.

The principles included "respect for sovereignty and
territorial integrity, non-interference of internal affairs,
non-support of separatism and not turning their territory as
a staging point for separatism."

The minister also said the agreement would accommodate and
develop existing bilateral cooperation in defence, law
enforcement, counter-terrorism, intelligence, maritime
security, aviation safety and disaster emergency response.

Critics fear the new agreement to increase military and
intelligence ties could see Australia aiding crackdowns on
independence activists in the restive province of Papua.

But Australian Defence Minister Brendan Nelson on Sunday
rejected the concerns.
"That's a highly provocative statement -- most certainly
not," he said.

The new agreement comes hard on the heels of a diplomatic
row over Australia's granting of asylum to 42 Papuan
separatists early this year.

Environmentalists have also accused Australia of turning a
blind eye to Indonesia's plans to build nuclear power plants
by agreeing to sign the treaty.

The treaty will also cover agreements on nuclear programs.

Indonesia's nuclear power plans were shelved in 1997 in the
face of mounting public opposition and the discovery and
exploitation of the large Natuna gas field. But the plans
were floated again last year amid growing power shortages.

"Australia is closing their eyes to the whole non-
transparent process and only put forward their uranium
export business aspect," despite efforts to support
democracy in Indonesia, the Indonesian Anti-Nuclear
Community said.

"It is not fair for Australia to support Indonesia's nuclear
program but prohibit the industry in some of their own
states," Dian Abraham, a spokesman for the non-governmental
organization, said Friday.

"There seem to be no plans to consult the people in
developing nuclear plans in Indonesia as written in the 1997
Nuclear Energy Act," he said.

The treaty will have to be ratified by both nations'
parliaments.

Indonesia said Monday the pact would act as an umbrella for
bilateral cooperation, against a backdrop of often volatile
relations between the two neighbours.

"This will become an umbrella" for security cooperation
between two neighbours that had shared several diplomatic
lows in past years, foreign ministry spokesman Percaya told
AFP.

Percaya said an existing security agreement inked by the two
countries in 1995 "could not answer the need for stability
in bilateral relations".

In the most recent incident to raise tensions between the
two countries, Indonesia recalled its ambassador from
Canberra earlier this year after Australia gave asylum
rights to 42 separatists from Papua.

Jakarta accused Canberra of reneging on its frequent verbal
recognition of Indonesia's territorial integrity.

Indonesia won sovereignty over Papua, formerly a Dutch
colony, in 1969 after a referendum widely seen as a sham.

Papuans have long accused Indonesia's military of violating
human rights in the province and complain that the bulk of
earnings from its rich natural resources flow to Jakarta.
With the agreement, both sides would possess a strong legal
basis to settle any dispute in the security arena, Percaya
said.

--------------------------------------------------------

Indonesia-Australia sign historic security pact

By Karen Michelmore

LOMBOK, Indonesia, November 13 (AAP) - Indonesia today said
it was confident Australia will no longer be used as a
staging post for separatist groups following the signing of
a historic security pact.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and his
Indonesian counterpart Hassan Wirajuda today signed the
wide-ranging seven-page treaty on the resort island of
Lombok.

The so-called Lombok Agreement signals a thawing of
relations between the two nations, after Indonesia's
ambassador to Australia was recalled amid a row earlier this
year when Australia granted protection to 43 Papuan asylum-
seekers.

The treaty - covering 10 areas including cooperation on
defence, law enforcement, counter terrorism, intelligence,
energy and emergency aid - is the first formal security
agreement since Indonesia tore up the previous treaty during
the 1999 East Timor crisis.

Importantly, both countries pledge not to support "in any
manner" any activities which threaten the "stability,
sovereignty or territorial activity" of the other, including
separatist groups operating in their own territories.

Australia and Indonesia have both previously said they don't
want to see Australia become a staging point for
secessionist groups.

Dr Wirajuda said Indonesia had expressed its concerns to the
Australian government that those recently granted temporary
visas were using Australia as a staging post.

However, the Papuan situation has been "really quiet" since
then, he said.

"We have expressed this openly, as far as we have expressed
our concerns to the Australian government that those who
were granted temporary visa have tried to use their presence
to champion their separatist aspirations," he said.

"But we have also witnessed that they have been pretty quiet
since then.

"With the signing of this agreement it strengthens our
belief that Australia will not be used by them."

He urged the media not to focus on the Papua incident and
the agreement covering nuclear issues, saying the talks
started long before the asylum-seekers arrived in Australia.

The agreement commits Australia and Indonesia to cooperate
to help prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction,
and strengthen "bilateral nuclear cooperation for peaceful
purposes".

"The situation has been really quiet and there has been no
threat of an exodus or mass movement of west Papuans to
neighbouring countries in the south."

Mr Downer said Australians needed to realise there had been
a "massive transformation" in Indonesia in recent years,
describing it as a pluralistic society with a free press and
freedom of speech.

Further, any upheaval in Indonesia from separatist groups
would be a potential disaster for the region.

"If Indonesia was to be broken up or if there was to be a
massive upheaval in the republic of Indonesia ... not only
would that be a disaster, including a disaster for the
people of Indonesia, but that would be a disaster for the
whole region including Australia," Mr Downer said.

He said the Australian government was "delighted" to sign
the agreement.

"What this does is provide a bedrock for the relationship
for many years to come."

He said the deal still needed to be ratified by the
parliaments of both countries.

"I'm hopeful that they will be very positive in their
response to it," Mr Downer said.

----------------------------------------------------

Australia Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News
November 13,
2006

Labor cautiously welcomes security pact

The Federal Opposition's foreign affairs spokesman, Kevin
Rudd, has cautiously welcomed the new security pact between
Australia and Indonesia.

The broad-ranging agreement will be signed later tonight by
the Australian Foreign Affairs Minister, Alexander Downer,
and his Indonesian counterpart, Hassan Wirajuda.

It is the first security pact between the two countries
since the Suharto/Keating agreement in 1995.

That agreement was torn up during the East Timor crisis four
years later.

The new agreement covers law enforcement, defence and border
control, as well as a commitment to support each other's
sovereignty.

Mr Rudd says while there is need for such an agreement, he
will wait until he reads the details before offering his
total support.

"We believe that we need to enhance our security cooperation
with Jakarta because we face a common enemy in the region -
that's terrorism," he said.
"To the extent that this treaty does that we welcome it.

"It's the other elements of the treaty we want to be
properly briefed on. Both on the nuclear aspects, as well as
those concerning West Papua."

The Federal Government says the agreement will ensure
Indonesia's right to deal with its own territorial issues.

Mr Downer rejects suggestions that the treaty has any
connection with the West Papuan refugee issue, and says it
will set out clear boundaries in the relationship between
the two countries.

"I think it would damage Australia's security interests and
it would damage our broader regional political interests if
we decided to get involved in secessionist movements in
South East Asia," he said.

-----------------------------------------------------

The Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Analysis

Envoys shake hands across our prickly northern fence

Mark Forbes in Senggigi, Lombok

WITH two signatures and a handshake, Indonesia and Australia
have proclaimed a new era of closer relations with a treaty
aimed at ending a roller-coaster of diplomatic crises.

The ambitious security treaty was signed last night by the
Foreign Affairs Minister, Alexander Downer, and his
Indonesian counterpart, Hassan Wirayuda, in Lombok.

Pledging stronger links in defence, law enforcement,
counterterrorism, intelligence-sharing, border protection
and even nuclear energy programs, the security framework
also contains clauses appeasing perceptions of Australian
support for Papuan independence.

The clauses, stating Australia will not interfere in
Indonesia's domestic affairs or "in any manner support any
person or entity which constitutes a threat to the
stability, sovereignty or [its] territorial integrity", will
spark concern in human rights groups and could create
unrealistic expectations in Indonesia.

Non-interference could mean Australia turning a blind eye to
the plight of Papuans and human rights abuses in Indonesia.

Although the clauses apply to both countries, they are a
response to Australia granting asylum to 43 Papuans earlier
this year, sparking a three-month freeze in relations and
the recall of Indonesia's ambassador.

Officials admit the concessions are aimed at calming the
waters before the expected arrival of more Papuan asylum
seekers.

Last night Mr Downer said the agreement "reflects a
confident and maturing bilateral relationship", providing a
legal framework for much greater co-operation in all areas
of security. The treaty states Australia and Indonesia will
do "everything possible individually and jointly to
eradicate international terrorism and extremism".

Mr Downer has been eager to distance this treaty from the
security pact secretly negotiated by Paul Keating in 1995
and torn up during the conflict over East Timor's
independence. Both sides state this is a broader framework
for a far deeper relationship in coming years.

The deeper links will include operations with Indonesia's
feared Kopassus troops - already training with Australia's
SAS - and State Intelligence Agency, which is under
investigation over the poisoning of Indonesia's leading
human rights activist in 2004.

However, this is a new treaty for new times. Under its first
directly elected President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,
Indonesia had determinedly embarked on democratic reforms.
Rampant abuses by the military and police in provinces such
as Aceh and Papua have been curtailed, although not
eliminated.

The joint response to the Bali bombings and the hunt for
their perpetrators demonstrates the value of an ally in
fighting terrorism, and Indonesia's resurgence as a regional
power offers further benefits to Australia.

The treaty represents a convergence between Mr Howard's
desire to play a greater regional role and Dr Yudhoyono's
wish to reinvigorate ties with the West.

The push for closer ties has been undermined by mistrust. A
Lowy Institute survey this year found most Australians
believed Indonesia was controlled by the military and posed
a threat of invasion. A majority of Indonesians said
Australia was too interfering and wanted to split Papua from
their nation.

The treaty envisages stronger personal links and education
campaigns to counter such misconceptions. Mistrust fuelled
Australian anger over the Schapelle Corby case and sentence
cuts for the Bali bombers. Fresh strains will come over the
sentencing of six of the Bali Nine heroin smugglers to
death.

But as Mr Wirayuda said at the weekend, Australia and
Indonesia are neighbours forever and the treaty aims to
transform potential conflicts into greater co-operation.

"This treaty is for the long term. Presidents may change;
prime ministers may change."

----------------------------------------------------

Australian Financial Review
Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Opinion

Security pact with clause for concern

By Harold Crouch

The security agreement signed yesterday with Indonesia was
negotiated in circumstances very different to those of the
Keating government's agreement of 1995.

Indonesia's deep suspicion of foreign security entanglements
made it necessary to conduct secret negotiations back then,
and that agreement received half-hearted support in Jakarta,
despite president Soeharto's endorsement.

The brief document committed the two parties only to
"consult" and "consider measures" in the event of "adverse
challenges". It lasted less than four years, when it was
overwhelmed by the East Timor crisis. In retrospect,
however, it helped to open the way to the new agreement.

The real message of the 1995 agreement was that neither
country considered the other a threat. This time it was no
secret that negotiations had been going on for the past two
years, although the final details, including potentially
controversial points, were not confirmed until last night.

Instead of the four single-sentence points of the 1995
agreement, the scope of the new agreement covers co-
operation in 10 areas, ranging from conventional defence to
"community understanding and people-to-people co-operation".

Most of these areas involve activities where co-operation
has already been taking place, such as counter-terrorism.

The potentially most difficult clause in the agreement,
however, deals with an issue that is not mentioned by name.
Many Indonesians harbour suspicions that Australia somehow
wants to separate Papua from Indonesia.

The reality is, of course, that it is difficult enough for
Australia to meet its self-proclaimed responsibilities in
Solomons Islands and East Timor - let alone take on a far
larger challenge in Papua.

The essence of article 2.3 commits the Australian government
to "not in any manner support or participate in activities
by any person or entity" that threatens Indonesia's
"territorial integrity", "including by those who seek to use
its territory for encouraging or committing such activities,
including separatism".

How literally should this be read? On one reading, there is
no problem because the Australian government has no
inclination to support or participate in the activities of
Papuan separatists. But is this how Indonesians will read
it? Will allowing such activities to take place on
Australian territory be understood as supporting and
participating?

The article also acknowledges Australia's domestic laws that
respect the right to protest and our international
obligations that oblige Australia to provide asylum to
genuine refugees.

An ambiguous clause might provide the only means to reach
agreement, but it could create a time bomb.

Harold Crouch is emeritus professor, Research School of
Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University.

----------------------------------------------------

Australian Financial Review
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Editorial

Treaty puts relations in their true light

The new security co-operation agreement between Australia
and Indonesia puts recent tensions between neighbours firmly
in the past. It meets Jakarta's needs: article two
explicitly prohibits either country from supporting
activities that threaten the other. That's code for giving
succour to Papuan separatists.

Having got that, the rest of the document is probably less
important to Jakarta. Prime Minister John Howard has
affirmed Indonesia's territorial integrity countless times.
Hopefully this will finally curtail Jakarta's ambivalence to
previous reassurances.

That doesn't mean the rights and freedoms Australians aspire
to have been trampled on, as some critics seem to believe.
The document obliges both parties to act consistently with
their domestic laws. If people in Australia exercise their
freedom of speech it doesn't mean Canberra is undermining
Indonesian sovereignty.

>From Australia's perspective, explicit commitments have been
made to combating terrorism, people smuggling and
corruption. Indonesia is Canberra's partner in tackling the
arc of instability. Like Australia it forms a bulwark to a
string of disintegrating states. And it's a buffer against
pockets of radical Islam in southern Thailand, the
Philippines and Indonesia itself. Shaking hands on counter-
terrorism, intelligence, and maritime security strengthens
what are already strong informal bonds.

We have been here before. As commentator Harold Crouch says,
the history of Canberra-Jakarta relations is a roller-
coaster. It's less than half a year since conditions were so
bad Indonesia recalled its ambassador. But each time the
parties make up, the bonds become stronger. Especially when
they're locked in by business and economics. Not for nothing
did Canberra include money laundering and cyber crime in the
treaty.

Importantly, the nuclear issue was put on the table.
Agreeing to prevent proliferation is sensible. But agreeing
to co-operation for peaceful purposes may be one of the
treaty's most beneficial legacies. The bonds of shared
economic interests and intellectual property will outlast
many other neighbourly spats.

----------------------------------------------------

The Advertiser
Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Lombok treaty can help heal old wounds

Cindy Wockner, Lombok

RELATIONS between Australia and its near neighbour Indonesia
moved further into the sun late yesterday, with the signing
of a 10-point security pact between the two countries.

Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer and his Indonesian
counterpart, Hassan Wirajuda, signed the seven-page
agreement on the resort island of Lombok, east of Bali.
The Framework for Security Co-operation comes seven years
after the last security pact was thrown out by a furious
Indonesia, and after a period earlier this year of testy
relations between the two countries over asylum seekers.

Jakarta was furious at Australia's decision to grant visas
to 42 West Papuan asylum seekers and withdrew its Australian
ambassador for a period.

However the historic deal, two years in the making, brings
the relations back on track.

Containing 10 articles, the agreement deals with co-
operation in areas such as defence, law enforcement,
counter-terrorism, intelligence and maritime security.

Most controversial is the principal in which both parties
agree not to support separatism in their territories.

While the agreement does not specifically mention West
Papua, this clause is seen to be aimed directly at
Australia's decision to grant the 42 protection visas
earlier this year and was included at Indonesia's request.

The last security pact ended in 1999, in the wake of
Australia leading peace-keeping forces into the former
Indonesian province of East Timor to stem violence which
followed the successful referendum to split from Indonesia.

The document says the parties: "Shall not in any manner
support or participate in activities by any person or entity
which constitutes a threat to the stability, sovereignty or
territorial integrity of the other party, including by those
who seek to use its territory for encouraging or committing
such activities, including separatism, in the territory of
the other party".

Mr Downer said the Government would not become involved in
any secessionist movements in South East Asia, but denied
the treaty's clause in regard to separatist movements
infringed on freedom of speech or expression.

"People can believe and support what causes they like, but
the Australian Government has not and will not be doing
anything to encourage secessionist movements in Indonesia
or, for that matter, anywhere else in South East Asia or the
South Pacific," he said.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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