Would the USA help Australia?

It is a rhetorical question, of course. No Australian government would be particularly inclined to test those particular waters; better to turn a blind eye to regional injustice than engage.

I’m referring to the ever present threat, just two or three hours flight due north of Northern Australia, Indonesia.

Bear in mind, Australia, despite its vast land area, has a population just over 20 million. Compare that to it’s nearest northern neighbour, Indonesia with its 201 million people, making it the world's fourth-most populous nation.

The politically and culturally dominant island of Java is one of the most densely populated areas in the world, with more than 107 million people living in an area the size of New York State.

The threat, given that disparity, comes into play when the regions old injustices come to the fore. It all harks back to the old colonial powers and the creation of borders without due regard for ethnic and cultural differences.

In fact, given the sprawling mass of the Indonesian / Melanesian archipelago, it was no doubt seen as politic to force the grab bag of peoples under the hegemony of one central power, Indonesia. It must be rembered that the US was an active participant in deciding the fate of societies to be swallowed up by Indonesia.

Looking back to the factors surrounding the decision to create this uneasy conglomerate, I found the words of one of Australia’s most insightful politicians. R G Casey was an adept diplomat and the Country’s foreign Minister (equivalent to US Secretary for State) as the colonial era was coming to a close.

It was on April 5, 1952 that Casey told Indonesia's then president Sukarno:

'Nothing was likely to disturb this relationship [between Australia and Indonesia] so quickly or so gravely as Indonesia getting sovereignty over West [Papua] New Guinea. Any change in sovereignty in West New Guinea would set the whole Australian people aflame, without distinction of political party."

Well it hasn’t yet set the people ‘aflame’, but the issue of self determination for West Papua is returning with a vengeance to haunt both countries.

Tensions rose dramatically over the past few weeks, following Australia’s decision to give refuge to a number of people fleeing the harsh Indonesian rule of their homeland. Taking them in wasn’t a political choice but a legal imperative. Given the threats, the bluster and bullying from Indonesia, the Australian government has not declared that it will take steps to stop future refuge seekers entering the country.

We have seen in the past the ruthless efficiency which the Australian government employs to stop refugees entering the country’s territorial waters. This is not about justice or compassion, but about sacrificing the rights of some for the security of others. In many ways the approach is understandable, but it is a dangerous path to decide who should have their rights and who should not.

Underlying this, as one of our readers pointed out recently, is the schoolyard bully mentality dominant in Indonesian affairs. It is a fair comparison, given that Indonesia so much resembles the oaf, who unable to focus his scattered energies in deliberately considered options, simply resorts to threat and bluster. Like the bully, Indonesia appears to suffer a cultural inferiority complex with a national ego which can be so easily punctured.

The Good News

Perhaps there is good news for the people of West Papua who crave the right to self determination, but lack any real international support to achieve that dream.

An umbrella organisation of Papuan independence groups is seeking the talks, with an Australian academic acting as intermediary. Associate Professor Damien Kingsbury, of Deakin University, is approaching a Finnish conflict resolution group is see if it can mediate in the talks, as it did in negotiations that led to a peace settlement in the Indonesian province of Aceh.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is believed to be open to the prospect of negotiations as a way out of the diplomatic and political impasse his Government faces in Papua, where Jakarta confronts widespread resistance to its rule.

Dr Yudhoyono has made repeated public comments about his desire to resolve the conflict in Papua, where widespread and entrenched political and community opposition has surpassed a guerilla movement as a major challenge to Jakarta's control.

Internationally mediated talks would be an acknowledgment by Jakarta that its current offer of "special autonomy" for Papua has failed to ease tensions between Papuans and the central government.

If he can successfully broker a settlement, the Indonesian President will show the kind of leadership which many; supposedly more sophisticated, western leaders are incapable of. It sounds far fetched, but with the many domestic tensions facing his government Dr Yudhoyono can see a way to pull the scattered social strands he rules together into strong, forward thinking country.

I wish him success in both endeavors. The world already suffers from too many ‘bully’ leaders. A lesson from Indonesia could serve us all well.

See previous posts:
West Papua Crisis
Cartoon diplomacy a croc
Great Indonesian Cartoon Scandal
Cartoons a real Downer