An odd way to treat best friend MEIDYATAMA SURYODININGRAT THE AUSTRALIAN NOVEMBER 22, 2013 12:00AM TONY Abbott in parliament on Tuesday described Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as one of the best friends that we have anywhere in the world. Well, at the moment Australia has lost its best friend. It has been several days since news broke that Australian intelligence services had monitored the personal calls of Yudhoyono, his aides and the first lady. And the best reaction Jakarta perceives it is getting from Canberra is a blase business as usual response. For a country that proclaims to invest so much in bilateral ties with its closest neighbour to the north and considers it to be the highest priority tier, Canberras response has been a colossal misjudgment of diplomacy, an utter failure to understand the psyche of the President and character of the Indonesian people. If the Prime Minister thought he could compartmentalise this issue and continue forward on other aspects of the bilateral relationship, he is wrong. The way things are developing, the repercussions of this latest affair may linger even after the two leaders make a public show, superficially or otherwise, of patching up their differences, as they undoubtedly would have to do in the future. Diplomacy at the surface is about negotiations and national interest, but at its heart is about people - especially when it comes to our closest neighbour, even more so with Yudhoyono. He does take things personally, and nothing is more personal than a mans wife. Though different in nuance and appropriateness, it is akin to the affront felt by Suharto when The Sydney Morning Heralds David Jenkins wrote in 1986 about the Suharto familys dubious business dealings. Whats even more befuddling is that the list of Indonesian officials allegedly monitored were all friends of Australia. No president in Indonesian history has been so personally active and supportive of building ties with Australia, even at the risk of frequent criticism at home for being too close to the West. Recall how Yudhoyono in 2011 tempered the initial harsh response from his own cabinet concerning the placement of US troops in Darwin to the point that it has since become a non-issue between the two countries. So it is understandable how betrayed he must feel at the moment. The fact Yudhoyono said he would write to, and not telephone, Abbott concerning this matter speaks volumes. The impression of violation is amplified under the backdrop of a set of compelling bilateral initiatives, not least of which was the signing of the Lombok Treaty in 2006. Yet still after all this there remained active attempts at espionage. The sense of violation is now evident in the near unified stance of Indonesian society at large fomenting into nationalist rhetoric. The same way Bill Shorten has fallen in line to support Abbott, allies and critics of the President are fully behind Yudhoyono in denouncing Australia and demanding sterner measures. Abbott did express his deep and sincere regret over the embarrassment suffered by the President, but only after saying that Australia did not need to explain or apologise. It is in contrast with the nature of Yudhoyono who offered a public apology - to the annoyance of his critics - to Malaysia and Singapore this year for the haze caused by forest fires in Sumatra. Indonesians are seeking the same kind of statesmanship and asking: If US President Barack Obama can apologise to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, why not Abbott? Canberras failure to hastily display a contrite, balanced tone the past three days has caused the situation to deteriorate faster than an Australian bushfire. Since the early 1990s Indonesia-Australia ties have been founded on the rapport of the leaders. The past eight years have seen an intensification of other facets of the relationship, but it remains founded on affinity at the highest levels. Three days ago an outright apology might not have been necessary if there had been a swift, frank clarification from Abbott. Now, with the damage done deep, it probably needs nothing less. Canberra needs to recognise the full vent of personal hurt and how it resonates with Indonesians. One thing Abbott still needs to learn about the predominant Javanese political culture is Indonesians always graciously forgive but, when hurt, rarely forget. Meidyatama Suryodiningrat is The Jakarta Posts editor in chief.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 07:48:43 +0000
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