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Keynote Speech
H.E. Dr. N. Hassan Wirajuda,
Minister For Foreign Affairs, Republic Of Indonesia
at The Observance of the 20th Anniversary Of
The Australia-Indonesia Institute
Jakarta, 4 November 2008
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is
a pleasure for me to congratulate the Australia-Indonesia
Institute (AII) on its 20th anniversary. We have
much to celebrate on this occasion: there is no
doubt that the AII has accomplished a great deal
in promoting greater mutual understanding and
appreciation between the peoples of Australia
in Indonesia.
During
the two decades that it has been at work, the
AII has brought together many dedicated and talented
Australians and Indonesians who have collaborated
in promoting that relationship-on a separate track
from that of our two governments. This is Second
Track diplomacy at its finest.
Let me
therefore commend the men and women who have generously
given their time and skills to the work of the
Institute. Let me thank the many friends of Indonesia
in Australia who have contributed to that work-including
some very close friends of mine like Dick Woolcott
and the late Allan Taylor.
The work
of the AII is entirely a private effort. The Government
of Indonesia, however, has found it desirable
to consult with its board on how to move forward
the relationship between our two countries.
In turn
the board has always sought to consult with the
President of Indonesia. As a matter of fact regular
consultations between the AII board and the President
of Indonesia date back from the time of President
Soeharto and is being carried out today during
the tenure of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Thus
the Institute has had a close-up view of the profound
changes that took place in Indonesia as we made
our transition from authoritarian rule to a more
fully democratic system. It has been a witness
to and a keen supporter of the process of reform
that produced a New Indonesia. And it certainly
has been one of the factors that serve as ballast
to the relations between our two countries.
There
is no denying that our bilateral relations often
fluctuated in the past. That is because our two
nations are products of vastly different history,
civilizations and cultures.
Australia
has been a democracy since way back. We in Indonesia
are still consolidating and fine-tuning our democratic
procedures and institutions. Between our two nations
there is a mismatch of backgrounds that can make
our relations rather bumpy.
But during the past seven years, our bilateral
relations have been generally stable. They have
become so much more rational than emotional. We
have successfully transformed potential areas
of conflict into an effective cooperation.
That
may be because democracies naturally tend to have
confidence in one another. It may also be because
in these enlightened times, our two nations have
become more aware of the stakes in our bilateral
cooperation and our collaboration in international
forums.
And in
view of these stakes, our Governments reached
out to each other in recent times. We negotiated
and concluded the Australia-Indonesia Framework
for Security Cooperation, better known as the
Lombok Treaty.
This
Treaty aims at intensifying mutual confidence
and trust as well as cooperation and consultation
on a broad range of interests that have to do
with the national and common security, stability
and prosperity of both countries. It binds each
country to respect the other's sovereignty, territorial
integrity, national unity and political independence
and to avoid interfering in each other's internal
affairs.
It has a defence component, of course, but it
is by no means a military alliance. It puts due
emphasis on non-traditional threats to security,
including terrorism, and on such concerns as maritime
and aviation safety and response to emergencies.
I expect
that the Treaty's attendant Plan of Action will
be adopted when we hold the Australia-Indonesia
Ministerial Forum in Canberra next week.
To my
mind, one of the chief merits of the Treaty is
that it contributes to the attainment and maintenance
of political equilibrium in East Asia. It helps
to firm up and gives added balance to the new
regional architecture that is forming today in
East Asia.
When
I speak of East Asia I do not mean a mere geographic
entity but a group of nations that have over the
decades formed a robust habit of cooperation and
dialogue in this part of the world.
The Treaty
came into force when Australian Foreign Minister
Stephen Smith and I exchanged notes of a process
verbale that we signed in Perth last February.
I have
no illusions, however, that the Treaty will solve
every problem and remove every irritant in Australian-Indonesian
relations. No Treaty implements itself. It takes
people to make it work.
In this
regard, I wish to point out an old concern. There
is a persistent view among a segment of the public
in Australia that Indonesia is somehow a threat
to its national security. Likewise, a corresponding
segment of the Indonesian public believes that
Australia is in a Western conspiracy against our
country.
I have
always regarded either view as ridiculous and
I am sure the Government of Australia gives it
no credence. But the number of people who hold
these views is significant.
That is one reason we concluded the Lombok Treaty:
to vigorously and directly ensure that there is
no security threat to Australia coming from the
direction of Indonesia, and that there is no conspiracy
against Indonesia that is being hatched in Australia.
But there
are threats to both countries from other directions-largely
non-traditional security threats-that we must
address together.
The Lombok
Treaty is there and it has now come into force.
But the job is not yet over and done. There is
a great deal of work to be carried out at the
grassroots level.
And it
is not just a matter of convincing a part of the
Australian public that Indonesia is no threat
and a part of the Indonesian public that Australia
is not out to wreak havoc on our country. We also
need to persuade all Australians and all Indonesians
to see each other as close partners in a long-term
endeavour to build a secure and prosperous life
for ourselves and for our future generations.
Both
Governments are committed to do their part in
communicating this message to the grassroots.
But this is a task that cannot be carried out
successfully by Governments alone. This is a task
that requires the exercise of opinion leadership
in all sectors of society.
This
is a task, therefore, that is very much in line
with the mission of the Australia-Indonesia Institute
(AII): the promotion of mutual understanding and
appreciation, as well as mutual confidence and
trust between our two countries on a people-to-people
basis. In this regard, you can effectively play
your role as intellectual mediator.
The Institute
has been doing this kind of work for many years
now, and has been doing it well. But in the light
of the implementation of the Lombok Treaty, I
think the AII is called upon to enlarge and intensify
its work.
It used
to be said that Australia has an abundance of
Indonesianists-Australians who have dedicated
their lives to studying and understanding Indonesia
and its people. But these eminent scholars are
not getting any younger. There is need for new
blood.
On the
other hand, there has never been a sufficient
number of Australianists in Indonesia-scholars
who have expert knowledge not only of Australia's
politics and its economy but also of the cultures
of its pluralistic society.
It does
not help that Indonesian language studies are
once again on the decline as they were 20 years
ago. At that time, the AII, although newly established,
successfully addressed this problem by building
institutional links between universities in Australia
and Indonesia. The Institute may wish to take
another look at those links today with a view
to broadening and strengthening them.
Of course,
there is also the need to encourage travel from
each of our countries to the other-there is nothing
more effective in the promotion of mutual understanding
and appreciation than direct exposure to a country's
culture and workaday life. Between Australia and
Indonesia, therefore, all constraints to the movement
of people should be removed.
Then we can more fully tap that huge reservoir
of friendship between our peoples to bolster our
cooperation. Ours is a friendship rooted in history:
Australia figured prominently in Indonesia's diplomatic
struggle to defend its freedom and sovereignty
in the middle to late 1940s. That will never be
erased from our collective memory.
And we
can never forget the heroism of the members of
the Australian rescue team who died while on a
mission to save Indonesian lives in the wake of
the tsunami in Aceh in December 2004. We are also
very much aware of many individual Australians
working as volunteers to improve the lives of
Indonesian communities.
And,
of course, there is the work of the Australia-Indonesia
Institute, which for two decades has nurtured
that friendship of ours.
All these
give me nothing but confidence that a pervasive
sense of partnership among Australians and Indonesians
at the grassroots level will continue to grow
much stronger.
Indeed,
no partnership can be stronger and more effective
than one that is born of genuine friendship. That
is what makes contributions rendered by the Australia-Indonesia
Institute so unique and so splendid.
I thank
you.
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