On April 14, INFIGHT, the Indonesian Front for the Defence of Human Rights, issued the following open letter to Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating as he began his visit to Indonesia.
This marks the first visit by an Australian Prime Minister to Indonesia since Bob Hawke's visit in 1983. The Prime Minister has stated that his visit is aimed to strengthen ties with Indonesia. Considering Australia's role in Cambodia, INFIGHT is convinced that Australia will want to prove its commitment to peace in the region by playing a similarly positive role in the resolution of conflicts within Indonesia.
[After itemising a long list of massacres since 1966 and stating that many Indonesians and East Timorese remain in detention for their political beliefs and pointing to other human rights abuses, the letter continues:]
Despite hefty sums of aid, 80% of Indonesians still live below the poverty line, 89.23% have no access to safe drinking water, 80% of the labour force consist of people who never go to school and the infant mortality rate is as high as 89 per 1000, highlighting gross economic mismanagement, while corruption is rife at all levels of the bureaucracy and most notably at the highest levels of government.
Considering the above, INFIGHT calls on the Australia government,
1. To halt all military aid to and cooperation with Indonesia, in particular the supply of military equipment, joint defence exercises and the training of Indonesian officers in Indonesian defence colleges.
Australia has claimed its foreign policy is based on realpolitik and pragmatism. Nevertheless, considering the broad opposition within Indonesia towards the military regime and the current international climate which is proving unfavourable to the continued survival of authoritarian and totalitarian governments, Australian government policies which support the present government could be interpreted as unwise opportunism.
Considering that the Indonesian government does not reflect the will of the people, it would be much more realistic and pragmatic of the Australian government to pursue policies which ensure the realisation of human rights within Indonesia in particular and of peace in the region as a whole.
2. Take advantage of the demise of IGGI [the Intergovernmental Group on Indonesia — a body that grouped Indonesia's international aid donors], of which Australia is a member, to make its economic aid to and cooperative projects with Indonesia contingent on the fulfilment of certain conditions, in particular the release of all political prisoners, the realisation of freedom of the press and of association, and of the clear delineation between executive, judicial and legislative bodies. Only then can the Australian government be sure that its aid is not being directed towards development projects which only disadvantage the poorest sectors of society.
In the current international climate, which favours the realisation of human rights through international solidarity, Australia's decision not to link human rights with its economic cooperation with Indonesia, rather than reflect an "independent and robust" role, only works to undermine the image of regional responsibility it showed in its role in the resolution of the Cambodian conflict.
3. Withdraw from the Timor Gap Treaty, revoke its recognition of the Indonesian government's illegal occupation of Timor, and call on the Indonesian government to withdraw its troops from East Timor, to allow the people of East Timor to realise their right to self-determination.
In a recent speech to the Asia-Australia Foundation, Mr Keating said that Australia's attempts to forge new links with Asia will be based on the guiding principles of nationhood, democracy, fairness and personal liberty. But what is the meaning in democracy and liberty as Australia's guiding principles if he does not grant the East Timorese the same right?
The Prime Minister's noble speeches will remain hollow as long as Australia remains a party to the Timor Gap Treaty that has prompted its recognition of Indonesia's illegal occupation of the territory, an occupation which has witnessed the violation of Mr Keating's noble principles of nationhood, democracy and personal liberty.