Leader to snub Howard in Jakarta
The Canberra Times
AAP
JAKARTA, Tuesday: Indonesia's most senior legislative leader plans to snub Prime Minister John Howard during his visit to Jakarta tomorrow.
National Assembly Speaker Amien Rais said today he would boycott a meeting with Mr Howard, claiming Australia meddled too much in Indonesia's domestic affairs.
"I will refuse to meet with Howard because there are too many problems between Australia and Indonesia," he said.
"For example the boat people. We've been accused of smuggling them to Australia."
Mr Howard was scheduled to arrive in Jakarta tomorrow for a three-day visit his second in six months aimed at improving ties after last year's spat with President Megawati Sukarnoputri over illegal immigrants.
But sources said his planned call on the legislature would be cancelled, with parliamentary Speaker Akbar Tanjung also expected to boycott the meeting.
While talks with Mrs Megawati appeared set to go ahead tomorrow afternoon, indications that she was under political pressure from her own party appeared late in the day.
Despite the snub from the senior legislators and recent bad floods in Jakarta, Mr Howard said Mrs Megawati was keen for his trip to proceed.
"It's a difficult time for the Indonesian people with the very bad floods, but both of us are keen at this stage that the visit should go ahead," he said.
"I'm looking forward very much to being there."
Indonesian political leaders took offence at Mr Howard's election campaign last year, claiming he had politicised the problem of illegal immigrants who pass through Indonesia on their way to Australia.
Mrs Megawati also refused to take Mr Howard's phone calls last year after he refused to allow a Norwegian freighter carrying more than 430 asylum-seekers rescued from the Indian Ocean to dock on Christmas Island.
Mr Rais also told reporters he would refuse to accept a courtesy call from Mr Howard on Thursday, because Australia supported independence movements in the Indonesian provinces of Papua to the east and Aceh to the north-west.
Parliament's Commission on foreign affairs had last week called on the Indonesian Government to postpone Mr Howard's trip because of concerns that Australia supported independence for Papua.
Despite assurances from Australia to the contrary, parliamentarians often use Australia's change in policy on East Timor in 1999 to claim Australia supported other independence movements.
Mr Howard was scheduled to travel to Java's cultural capital Yogyakarta on Thursday.
A visit to the ancient Buddhist monument, Borobudur, was planned for Friday morning before the Prime Minister flies home via Bali's Denpasar airport.