This is news from 28 March 2006. I honestly am confused to the approaches Australia has taken towards Indonesia.. is it actually an honest neighbour of Indonesia??

Government 'won't cut ties' with Australia
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia has no plans to sever diplomatic ties with Australia because it granted refugee status to a group of Papuans, a presidential spokesman says.

Dino Patti Djalil described nationalists' demands for the country to end relations with its southern neighbor as "unrealistic". A move to increase tensions with Australia would only play into the hands of Papuan separatists, he added.

"It just won't happen. This is what they (separatists) want ... President (Susilo Bambang) Yudhoyono has made it very clear that relations will remain as is."

Last week, Australia granted temporary protection visas to 42 of 43 Papuans who arrived by boat at Cape York in January, sparking an angry reaction here.

Despite forging a cordial rapport with Australian Prime Minister John Howard, Yudhoyono has not contacted his counterpart since the visa issue broke last week. On Friday, the country recalled its ambassador from Australia to clarify the issue.

Australia has played down the issue as a case-by-case decision by immigration officials. Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Bill Farmer stressed the move did not signal a departure from Canberra's recognition of Indonesia's territorial integrity.

Speaking after a meeting with Indonesian Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono, Farmer on Monday said he understood Indonesia's sensitivities over the issue. However, he emphasized that Australia was obliged by domestic and international law to review the asylum claims.

"You may have seen reports that some private individuals, some organizations in Australia have views about Papua (independence), but they are not the same as the Australian government's," said the former Australian immigration chief.

Farmer's attempt to smooth over the worst incident between the neighbors since 1999 came as Indonesia postponed signing an agreement on Australian assistance to fight bird flu with A$10 million of funding.

"This postponement is linked to the granting of the visas," Lalu Mara Satria Wangsa, from the public welfare minister's office, told Agence France-Presse.

"The government has one voice on this," Lalu said, adding that the agreement would be signed when "diplomatic relations are more conducive".

Indonesian officials have questioned the speedy issuance of the visas to the Papuans after those of Afghan and Iranian asylum seekers applications were rejected.

Responding to the accusations of favoritism, Farmer said Australia had granted visas to nearly 90 percent of illegal visitors seeking asylum from the two countries during the past eight years.

Protests over the visas were reported in three cities here Monday.

Two separate rallies involved several hundred chanting protesters massing outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. Protesters waved placards with slogans, including "Go to hell Australia, the devil needs you there!"

"Don't turn Papua into a second East Timor," one of the demonstrators told ElShinta radio.

The protesters also threw paint at the embassy's coat of arms and scrawled graffiti saying "Get out of Indonesia immediately" and "Australia f***."

When asked about these rallies, Farmer said: "There are peaceful demonstrations and (Indonesian) people are exercising their rights (in a democracy)."

In the House of Representatives, People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Hidayat Nur Wahid of the Prosperous Justice Party said Australia must show clearly where it stood on the Papuan issue.

"Australia must choose between two: Maintain bilateral ties with Indonesia, or have a relationship with the 42 Papuans raising the banner of the Free Papua Movement," he said,

Foreign relations observer Dewi Fortuna Anwar said the government should go further than just recalling its ambassador.

"The government can also temporarily halt all cooperation with the Australian government," she said.

Dewi suggested Indonesia could retaliate by opening its borders to allow more refugees to flood into Australia.

***

I see. It's annoying how they say Australia this Australia that. It should be the Liberal Government this or Howard that. You know how it goes!!

You can not thrust them....sebelum krismon mereka mau tandatangani pact untuk kerja sama dengan Indonesia dalam bidang pertahan dan keamanan. Tapi waktu tahun 1999 mereka masuk Tim2 sama Interfet. Australia juga kadang2 masuk wilayah Indonesia sm pesawat intai atau jet tempur...

Kalau "hanya" soal masuk ke wilayah udara kita sih, saya rasa sudah sering sekali, apalagi pada saat RI lemah begini. Bukan cuma pesawat, tapi juga kapal perang. Dan bukan cuma di wilayah Timur.

That's why I asked "are they actually honest in building friendship with Indonesia"?

Because, of course, if Indonesia would be torn apart into pieces, Australia would be able to expand its influence in the region.

Bukan begitu?

From my observation, Australians have a bad perception of Indonesia through their their media.

Recently, the Age made a report of how corrupt Indonesian government sell wide areas of pristine rainforest which meant the destruction of flora and fauna and homes of the indigeous habitant to make way for a gold mine in West Papua. They also made interviews with some local activists who yearns for an independent West Papua.......hehe...like a Malay proverb....'there's a shrimp hiding behind the rock' or something smells fishy..
we have seen Timor Leste and OZ got the oil field.... and i guess they also want the gold mine in Papua(?)..too

Exactly!
And indeed, broadcast companies like ABC always tells bad things about Indonesia, or make it worser than it is.( Maaf, Bahasa Inggris sy kurang bagus) Beberapa tahun baru, 2001, perna ada demo di Jkt. Waktu itu hanya 200-300 mahasiswa yg unjuk rasa, tapi ABC reporter bercerita bahwa situasi di Jkt sdg bereskalasi, chaos, anarchy dll...
Dari dulu mereka Indonesiafobi

My only question is: WHY??

Australia is the US wanna be in Asia

As a relatively insignificant white country locked in a mostly non-white area of the world, Australia always want to emulate the imperialist exploits of their white American and British masters to placate their insecurities. Little Australians realise, they have no influence and exerts no power over its stronger northern neighbours.

Second explanation, many Australians have grudge with Indonesia over the 92 Australians killed by Bali bombing, and they view Indonesia as "Muslim enemy".

As what Indonesians view Australia, here is a nice cartoon:

Wow purnomor,
I think you may have been upset when you entered this comment?
I know that even you that this is BS.


Definately must of had a bad hair day. Who are these many Australians? The media? The white trash that abused you at the train station on this day? Who upset ya mate? There really wouldn't be that many.

The good thing about Aussie's is that we can move on. Not like some other sensitive countries that i won't mention.

LOL! It's true though!

BUT remember Australia, the U.S.A and Britain are all good old mates. $hit, we are even related to each other!!

Hmmmmm...... if Australia is not a reliable neighbour of Indonesia, and its people are still pissed off abt the Bali bombing of its citizens, why would they commit A$1bn in aid to Indonesia in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami?

Is it really unreasonable of Australia to offer asylums to these refugees pending investigations of genocide claims in the Irian Jaya province? Genocide is a serious crime against humanity and such claims should be scrutinised closely, do you agree?

See paper suggesting that evidence that the Indonesian government has
committed acts against the West Papuans in violation of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the customary international law prohibition this Convention embodies.

http://www.law.yale.edu/outside/html/Publi...apuahrights.pdf

I am not pro-Australia nor anti-Indo but there are some objective issues which the Indo government should address clearly rather than make sweeping statements that these West Papuans are merely economic refugees.. Even if they are so, they should be allowed to migrate peacefully, as thousands of economic refugees try to do so each day.

If Australia has ulterior motives in encouraging insurgency in W Papua, then the Indonesian government should outsmart these Ozzies in the propaganda. Show the world and most of all, the W Papuans that they can govern W Papua with a benign hand.

I'm not sure.

Sorry, I shd be calling it West Irian, instead of West Papua on this forum. M'aaf!

Nah mate. Don't worry, I am not upset, although I like most other Indonesians are displeased by Australia's decision to give asylum to Papuan separatists, thereby making Australia a safe haven for them to plot harm on Indonesia.

It is quite clear Australia, being a white country, insecurely views its northern neighbours with suspicion and trepadition. Ever since Australia was created, it always act in slavish manner towards Britain and later United States as stronger fellow white countries, in order to gain their protection from the northern "peril". During WWII, it was the Japanese. Later, Australia invited itself into Vietnam War to ensure US that Australia is a true American ally (as PM Harold Holt put it, Australia was "all the way with LBJ [American president Lyndon Baines Johnson])". Paul Keating had a brilliant idea of putting to rest these insecurities by making Australia "a part of Asia". But, John Howard killed this policy and returned to the old sucking-up to USA, a fellow white country. Hence, Australia send soldiers to Iraq and maintain them there despite most other US "allies" having withdrawn their contingents.

On Indonesia, it is clear many Australians have pretty bizarre ideas, such as that Indonesia is "completely dependent" on Australian aid, while the fact is Indonesia is not even dependent on IMF. Hence, they have exaggerated sense of importance in Indonesian affairs.



I attain this conclusion after viewing many popular Australian forums and news blogs, where people really speak what they really think.



I wonder how and exactly when Australia get over the Bali bombings?

In 1961, native Papuan population was estimated to be 600,000. Today, there are about 1.2 million native Papuans, forming 50% of total population of West Irian Jaya and Papua provinces. Since under Indonesian rule, the native Papuan population actually doubles, it is clear no "genocide" ever happened there.

Indeed that "Yale report" never claim to have evidence of any "genocide", but SPECULATES that such genocide "might be possible". In other words, this report is just bollocks aka bullcrap. Another weakness of this report is that it completely depends on sources written by TAPOL, an organisation run by a British member of PKI (Indonesian Communist Party) Carmel Budiardjo. This means this report is completely biased as it was solely based on claims made by an ex-communist who is motivated by irrational hatred over Indonesia's rejection of communism in 1965.

In the cultural front, native Papuan culture is far more preserved in Indonesia than in neighbouring PNG. Due to Australian misrule, PNG is now classified as a failed state with no semblance of law and order with a completely ineffectual government. PNG's capital Port Moresby is consistently rated as the most unlivable city in the world, with armed criminal gangsters called raskols ruling the streets; robbing, murdering, and raping at will. In the countryside, native PNG culture has been severely destroyed by uncontrolled distibution of drugs, alcohol, and guns. Meanwhile, Indonesian govt is wise enough to ban these destructive materials from entering West Irian Jaya and Papua provinces.

Meanwhile, these "asylum seekers" are self-proclaimed Papuan separatists. The intention of their journey to Australia is to create a dirty propaganda against Indonesia to further their separatist agenda.

I picture in my mind

Indonesia is a Girl and Australia is a guy that likes to godain(flirt) her

mate,

please never ever rely on internet based information. the people who come up with this crap most of the time are on drugs or are spoilt rich kids with too much time on their hands and etc.

thanks tangawizi- has provided us with some good points.

I'm not saying Australias perfect, cause I know it's not.

BTW was anyone in forrrest chase Perth? you would of seen me walk up to the protesting (Indonesia out of West.PNG) hippies and say out loud "we should give Australia back to the Aboriginals then?" and then seeing them all look dumbfounded. bunch of idiots. LOL.






Oh don't worry, the families of the victims will never get over it ... mate.

Indonesia should have a big meeting with all the countries big wigs and say OK things are going to change in Irian, we're going to treat the people better and etc. And we're learning this from Australia's experiances and treatment of their original inhabitants. lol

^ Hopefully you're right. What is certain Australian foreign policy will always copy American position. Australia has no power to create its own foreign policy that diverged even a bit from America. As long as Indonesia in a good relations with USA as it is now, Australian govt wouldn't do anything dumb in relation with Indonesia.

Are you there are 1.2mn West Papuans? You are not mistaking this with the number of transmigrated persons are you? Is it true these reports which say that in the 1990s, Indonesia transplanted 1.2 million Javanese and Sumatran persons to Irian Jaya in order to tip West Papuan population from the heavily Melanesian Papuans toward a more Asian "balance," thus further consolidating Indonesian control?

The Yale report was written way after the extinction of the communist party in Indonesia. Can you show me anything which connects this Carmel Budiardjo or PKI with TAPOL?

According to BPS (Statistical Central Bureau) Papua, the 2000 Census found there are 1,460,846 native Papuans out of total population of more than 2.6 million.

http://www.papua.go.id/bps/

Carmel Budiardjo survived anti-PKI purge because of her British nationality. She was imprisoned for three years before being deported back to Britain in 1971, where ever since she embarked on anti-Indonesia propaganda in hope of overthrowing anti-communist Suharto regime, and hence paving the way for return of communism to Indonesia.

Carmel Budiardjo became communist since late 1940s by becoming member of communist International Union of Students in Prague, Czechoslovakia. She married a Politburo member of PKI named Suwondo Budiardjo in 1952. Suwondo was later a member of CC (Central Committee) PKI who arranged importation of Chinese arms for PKI's planned "fifth armed force" in mid-1960s. Carmel's PKI codename is "Kasman", during early 1960s she made propaganda for integration of Papua into Indonesia, which was a PKI agenda at the time. Later in Britain, she is the founder and leader of communist organisation TAPOL, whose propaganda products are the only sources of the Yale "report".

Carmel Budiardjo's communist background

We can't trust Australia.....

Do you remember....? USA and Australia gave their "blessing" on Indonesian entry to East Timor in 70's. Over fear that Fretilin will turn East Timor to be a communist state like Cuba.
Then Australia stab Indonesia's back on supporting East Timor Independence. Now Australia got bigger share on Timor Sea oil field. When East Timorese grow poorer and poorer.

Now I think they got their eyes on Papua. They ready to play their game on this issue. So we can't trust Australian govt.

I agree with Purnomor. Australia, thanks to it's geographic isolation only can be invade from north, so they develop some kind of insecurity complex towards Indonesia. I think they prefer weak fragmented Indonesia rather than strong Indonesia.

Australian govt should be very-very careful on this separatist issue, for Indonesian unity is our ultimate and cherished national value. Messing with this can led to diplomatic relations collaps, or even war.

Recently USA tried to court Indonesian favour and forging relation by showing that USA is not hostile to Muslim country such as Indonesia. Maybe Australia should consult their patrons and asking, is it wise to upset Indonesia, while West (USA, GBR and EU) try to court Indonesia.
If Australia doesn't respect Indonesian sovereignity, maybe Indonesia will grow to be closer to China
We talking about macro-powerplay here.

Wow, that link to Carmel Budiardjo's communist background is interesting! Why would Yale sponsor such a report from an ex-communist, I wonder?

Anyway, thanks Pur for shedding light on this Irian Jaya issue. I have only heard young British diplomats talking about the purported genocides in IJ and never really knew if it were true or not.

I have met folks who worked in Papua New Guinea which is administered territory of Australia right? All they could tell me was the rampant lawlessness and deterioration of the mores of local society under the influence of oil money, alcohol and uncontrolled exploitation going on there by the multinationals.

What is Irian Jaya like, I wonder?

Cause they know they can get away with it, since Indonesian govt is so weak in its overseas PR.



Your welcome. Those rumors are not true.



Alcohol, drugs, and guns, destructive items which had destroyed PNG, are prohibited from entering Indonesian Papua. Being drunk in public or committing even the pettiest crime will land you in jail.

Here's an interesting narrative on the huge difference between the two sides of Papua Island:
Sobaka: A Line In the Jungle

I agree, and withdrawing Indonesian ambassador from Australia is a correct gesture to display our intolerance to foreign countries who sympathise with separatists. Plus, we wake Australia from its delusions of power and show them their position of importance in the regional food chain: the very bottom.

DID you see any riots when the bombings occured????. DID we burn down your EMBASSY or did we declare any holy war against INDONESIA???? I dont think soo, in fact many AUSTRALIANS urge Australians to visit to show that the TERRORIST havent won and to also help the economy!!!!!

Indeed Indonesian and Australian police are cooperating to hunt down the perpetrators of Bali bombings, most of whom are now dead or in jail. Such cooperation benefits both sides.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4867470.stm

we should have make more ties with Canada rather than Australia.
Canadians are peaceful just like in the Bowling for Columbine muvee

I'll say from the start that I'm Australian and proud to be one. I don't agree with everything the Australian govnt has done in the past but overall I think they have been decent.
I don't know what is happening in Irian Jaya and how it compares to East Timor. I don't know if there have been any atrocities commited in East Timor but there have been reports in the media to that extent and I have met East Timorese who have talked to me about the persecution they have personally experienced.
What I do know is that Australia grants temporary protection visa's to people who claim that their life would be in danger if they were sent back to their country, while these claims are investigated. These decisions are made based on a case by case basis and in this case as far as I understand not with the interference by the government. If their case is proven false, they get sent back. Australia has very tight migration policies and onyone who has tried to migrate to Australia will tell you so.
Having said that Australia makes no distinction where their refugees come from, either Muslim, Christian, Hindu etc. nor the colour of your skin. We have many refugees from Afganistan, Iraq, Iran and lately Somalia.
Australians watch on TV the effects of the Bali bombings in Bali, on their embassy in Jakarta. on protesters in Jakarta calling for death to Australians. We see how the Indonesian media draws cartoons belitting our politicians in such a rude way. Yet when they witness the horrors the tsunami caused in Indonesia we opened our hearts and wallets in support of our northern neighbours. On top of whatever support the Aust govnt provided the everyday citizens of Australia donated a futher $1bn dollars to the Aceh relief. How much did Indonesia's Muslim friends provide? We sent medical teams and Armed forces support, some of whom lost their lives helping the local community.
I'm not saying Australia and Australians are perfect, far from it but I also feel the characterisations of Australians and their govnts in this post is unjust and unfair.
Any yes I personally do belief that the Aust Govnt is too aligned with the US.

I highly appreciate your open, careful and pragmatist approach to the issue. As a non-Muslim Indonesian abroad, deep in my heart I do think that most of Australians and Indonesians share the same basic desire and expectations from life.

However, the "problem" here lies in several sectors of the population. In Indonesia, there are hard-line terrorists, hard-line religious fundamentalists (both Christians and Muslims), hard-line nationalists, hard-line ethno-based sectarians, die-hard corrupters and the rest of population. I can't describe the Australians, but there are surely these hard-line campaigners for a weaker Indonesia, based on NGOs. I don't know if they get the support from the government, but they seem to be well-exposed in the media. We all know the media is unofficially regarded as the fourth "pillar" of democracy. I don't think, however, that a "biased" media that's supported by some NGOs contributes positively to the democracy.

NGO?
I don't think there are many Aussies who would want a weaker Indonesia. I think most Aussies wouldn't care how weak or strong Indonesia was, all most of us want is for our neighbours to live in peace and for them to allow us to leave in peace.
With the Bali bombings Australians know that it was the work of extremists and because of that they continue to go back to Bali despite knowing that they put themselves at risk. Our desire to not let Bali's economy suffer overides our fear that something may happen to us.
My only regret is that there are some young aussies who go over to Bali that don't understand the more conservative culture, and give all Aussies a bad name by their behaviour.

Yes, NGOs, my friend. I can't pinpoint which ones, but these guys have their hidden political agendas, they provoke but when provoked back, they hide in the name of democracy and freedom of speech.

Many Australians are sending letters to their dailies to support the Greens for the independence of Papua from RI....I'd be really intimidated if I read people saying like that about my country...

If Mahathir is still our PM today...ohh..what a good time he'll have..joining hands with SBY taunting Australia...

This is like a smaller version of the Indonesia-bashing seen during Schapelle Corby trial. Big-mouthed display of chest-thumping arrogance, but with no impact. As Indonesia is an ally of USA, Australian govt has no choice but to became ally of Indonesia. They won't do anything dumb in relations with their support for Indonesian unity and integrity.



Mahathir was right when he said Australia, as a white country, will always try to ran over its colored neighbours. Indeed Australia need to be bashed in order to return this delusional country from its delusions of superiority to its real status: stooge of USA.

^ Yeah Aussies sometimes make big fuss and judge other people's culture based on trivial incidents and matter..once in 1993 when a Malaysian prince took his children under his custody without his ex-wife knowledge which hogged Australian headlines...Australian media launched a TV series the 'Embassy' which clearly insults Malaysia(coz the flag of the imaginary backward country, Ragaan resembles Malaysia's ) and Islam (Ragaanians were portrayed as Taliban looking men and abused veiled women).......this really pissed off many Malaysians especially Mahathir......imagine an Australian father taking custody of his children from his Malaysian ex-wife...the dude would have been a hero and the ex-wife would have been an evil Muslim mother.....

Australians are nice people and gladly help many people, but they are too isolated from her Asian neighbours and hence they are kinda ignorant of the situation here....heck..many Australians I met does not even know that Sabah and Sarawak is apart of Malaysia!!!!!! They dun know,that if Papua reach independence and Indonesia somehow destabilize, it'll be Indonesians and her ASEAN neighbours who will suffer the grim consequences....

Many peeps in Australia wouldn't know what is Sabah or Sarawak

Until recently, most Aussies who actually have been there don't even know that Bali is part of Indonesia!

Mas pur, it's kinda wierd that you are taking your graduate education in Australia and yet you take a dim view on the average Australians and their government's foreign policies towards Indonesia. Does it bother you at all to live in Australia? (shd I wait till you become Mr May, to ask you these personal questions?)

I don't see why I must approve of Australian govt policies just because I am studying in Australia. I don't have any problem with average Australians, as they mostly couldn't care less about politics. Not that I like talking politics in real life anyways. On the other hand, I completely despise those ignorant Australians who are supporting separatists intent on dismembering my country Indonesia.

exacly nope..gotta read all posts first..so that i won't make wrong statement..

NGO? Means I don't know what NGO stands for, and I still don't.
Yes there are some Australians who support independence for Papua, the majority wouldn't have an opinion. Those that do don't necessarily support independence but support the "native" Papuans from being persecuted this is based on reports coming out of Papua. If these reports are lies and they may be why doesn't Indonesia allow independent observers into the area?
Most Australians would not know where Sabah or Sarawak is or that they belonged to Malaysia but I'd bet just as many Indonesians and Malaysians would not know where Lord Howe Island, Christmas Island or even Tasmania was.
Any father/parent who kidnaps his children be he Malaysian, Singaporean or Australian would have outraged the Australian community. Tell me, being a non muslim, what would Ms Gellispie's chances of having custody of her children be in Malaysia? Would she have been treated as fairly as a Muslim mother would be? She carried the children in her womb for 9 months, which man can understand what that feels like. And Forrestcat, having someones children taken from them is NEVER, NEVER, NEVER a trivial issue.
Yes in the past Australia has been ignorant wrt her neighbours but she's certainly not anymore. "Indonesia bashing" did occur in Australia wrt Scherpelle Corby, but that was only a small minority of Australians. What about the Australia bashing that goes on in Indonesia? Personally I was embarassed by the behaviour of Ms Corbys family, shouting at the judges. If she did the crime, she does the time. The Bali 9, no one in Australia is condemming the Indonesain govnt about their treatment, or the fact they may be hanged. There are many Australians who don't believe in the death penalty and they will speak out as is their democratic right but how many of them walk down the streets burning Indonesian flags or effigy's of Indonesian politicians calling for death to all Indonesians or attacking the Indonesian embassy as was in the news today in Jakarta? Furthermore there are many more Australians who believe that if you commit the crime you pay the price.
There are many Indonesians critisizing Australia for accepting the Papuans and giving them temporary protection visa's. You claim this means that we support papuans rights for independence. NO SUCH THING, all it means is that we are giving protection to people we feel may need it, we make no mention of papua's sovreignty, in fact our politicians have gone out of thier way to state that fact. Furthermore, I never saw these same Indonesians kicking up a fuss when illegal immigrants who weren't even true refugees were brought into Australia and given similar type visa's, all via Indonesia.
Puramor, you study in Aust, do you feel threathened being an Indonesian walking down Aust streets. I'm an Australian, can you say that I will be safe walking down the streets of Jakarta?
Finally Australia is not a "white country", we have more different ethnic groups then Indonesia and Malaysia combined and irrispective of your race or how long you've been in Australia, all Australians are treated equally.

^very good points there mate.

I understand where you are coming from mas pur, but often times, do you actually make any differentiation between the Australian government and the diverse opinions of different Aussies? For it seems that in your criticism of Australia, they are often just lumped together as one entity?

If you've never left Indonesia, I can understand this, but you live and study in Australia, you can surely see the difference there. Not all is that black and white as you paint it.

Not all of Australia is maliciously supporting separatist movements to the detriment of Indonesia.

And the reactions you give (threatening war and all that) suggests a sense of insecurity about Indonesia's hold on IrianJaya..

It just doesn't convince people that there is no repression against these West Papuans by the Indonesian authorities.

Maaf.. if I am mistaken in any of these personal views.



Australians can always feel safe walking downtown in Jakarta. But if Mas Pur happens to look like a Lebanese sauntering on Bondi Beach, he could spark a riot! hehe..

The Bondi situation is not as straightforward as it seems. Yes there are issues there with the mainly Muslim Lebanese. They claim that they do not have access to jobs, I'm unsure what they mean by that as they have as much access to jobs as any other member of the Australian community, still they should be heard before judgement in passed. The attack on the Lebanese-looking couple who had no involvement is a blight in Australias history, fortunately they were not seriously hurt. What has not been reported was that tensions arose when a group of Lebanese youth gang raped a young "white" woman. They tried to put the blame on her by saying that she dressed in a provocative way and if she did that in "their" country what they did was justified. There were even calls from a small section of the Muslim community that Australia needs to adopt these Islamic laws. The straw that broke the camels back was when a group of Lebanase men beat up a Bondi lifeguard, this triggered the riots.
Before coming to Australia any migrant should be familiar with the laws of the land and the culture, and yes the Aussie culture does change with time as more ethnic groups enter Australia. However if you do not agree with the laws of the land, DON'T COME TO AUSTRALIA, migration is a chioce. You cannot come here enjoy what the nation has to offer and yet expect things to be the same as "back home", particularly with Islamic law. I think that considering the recent increase in Muslims migrating to Australia, Australia has done better then most in intregrating them into the local community. Would say for example Indonesia or Malaysia accept an increasing number of Christians into their country?

Non-Indonesians are none of our business.



As tangawizi said, Australian can walk down streets of Jakarta safely, but if you look like an Arab walking down Bondi or Cronulla beaches, you might get yourself bashed by local whites.



92% of Australians are whites, it is a white country. Indonesia has 742 different ethnic groups, more than Australia and Malaysia combined. You must be dreaming if you think whites treat different races "equally". Do you think it is possible for a non-white to become prime minister of Australia? Do you even think it is possible for a non-white to be a popular public figure in Australian entertainment industry? Have you ever seen a non-white face in Neighbours/Home and Away?



Those who have no opinions merit no response, only those who have an opinion merit a response/criticisms.

Anggota DPR Beberkan Jaringan Pendukung Separatis Papua di Australia



We are simply underlining what is going to happen if external countries try to intervene in our domestic affairs, it is a kind of disclaimer which all foreigners must read.

Indonesian rule over West Papua is completely secure, as it is recognised internationally. In West Irian Jaya province, more than 60% of the population are transmigrants, while in Papua province transmigrants made around 50% of the population. Meanwhile, majority of native Papuans are loyal Indonesian citizens as can be seen by their high participation in Indonesian national and regional elections.

We don't really care what foreigners think about Indonesian internal affairs. We mind our own business, foreigners mind theirs. Indonesian sacrificed thousands of lives during war of independence exactly to earn this right of independence.

that matter was between those 2 parents...it was not necessary to make some silly series depicting us as barbarians.......and the attention to this matter was really exaggerated...Oh yeah..at that time some Australian fathers who could not visit their children (who live with their ex-wives) even support the prince's act and sent letters to both Australians and Malaysian media to support him..so some Australians do not see it as an act of barbarism...

Besides these, Australia also once persuaded Pakistan not to sell Malaysia its Agosta 90B submarines which also dissuaded Malaysia from buying Agosta 90B..and this has created anger among Malaysia's defense enthusiasts and aggravated the Malaysia-Australia tensions in the final years of Mahathir rule....

I agree that that was a matter between 2 parents and I agree the series was tasteless, so did most Australians. The series did not last long did it? Yes I would also say that there are many Australians who symphathise with the Princes position, me being one of them but it NEVER justifies kidnapping. There are many Australians who have visited Malaysia and many more who know people from Malaysia and I've never met any Australians who think Malaysians are barbarians. I can't comment on the TV series as I didn't think it was worth my time to watch.
Personally wrt Mahatir, although I feel he has done good within Malaysia, I can't say that international relations between Malaysia and many other countries improved under his term.

So you're saying that all the demonstrators calling for death to Australians in Jakarta,was what, just staged for the media? And the bombing of the Australian embassy and the pepole who died there, just fake make up? When was the last time you walked down a street in Australia and felt threathened just because you were Indonesian?
One day there may be a non white PM of Australia, I and most Australians we don't care as long as the person does a good job. That person may very well be John So, the current (Chinese ethnic) mayor of Melbourne, he recieved bigger ovations from the commonwealth games crowd thenour "white" PM John Howard and our Premier Steve Bracks. So how does a Chinese man get elected to be Mayor of Melboure when 92% of the community is "white", OH MY GOD, some of the whites must have voted for him.
You've talked about a non white never being elected to being PM in Australia. Can you ever see a Chinese being President of Indonesia? You may study in Australia but you don't know Australians, how many white Australian friends do you have?

LOL, when does Indonesians demonstrate "calling for death of Australians"? Indonesians do demostrate against giving of visa to Papuan separatists, are you saying if we demonstrate against Australian policies, then we are calling for the death of Australians? What a weird mindset, seems like you've been brainwashed by Australian media's Indonesia-bashing.

Bombing of Australian Embassy was done by Malaysian cockroach terrorists Dr Azahari and Noordin Mohd Top. Malay terrorist Azahari has been killed by Indonesian police, while the other perpetrators are mostly either dead or in jail. Please, tell your ex-country Malaysia to stop exporting terrorists to Indonesia!



LOL, becoming mayor of Melbourne is not even close with becoming PM of Australia. John So got elected because Melbourne has highest concentration of non-Anglo immigrants, many of whom are non-white (25% of Melburnians are born overseas). As long as whites remain 92% of population, non-whites will never become PM, state premiers, or even popular entertainment figure.




I know white Australians are perhaps the least racist of all whites, but for you to say that whites will treat Asians with equal treatment as he/she would treat other whites is simply not true. That is why whites and Asians mostly don't really mingle together, and many companies prefer hiring whites over Asians to keep a "favourable working environment". Saying that whites treat Aborigines well is simply a blatant lie.