It is difficult to believe Alexander Downer when he claimed on ABC radio on Monday that Australia was unaware of the extent of the corruption of former Indonesian president Suharto….. Senator Evans was proposing to continue the work of his predecessor. It is difficult to believe Alexander Downer when he claimed on ABC radio on Monday that Australia was unaware of the extent of the corruption of former Indonesian president Suharto.
Certainly within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade there was an awareness of this corruption from the ‘ mid-1980s. Successive Australian ministers and prime ministers were aware of it. That is why it was always difficult to understand why Paul Keating developed such close a personal relationship with Suharto, particularly when that relationship delivered nothing to the people of Indonesia or Australia.
The Australian public service has always known a lot more about Indonesia than it has been prepared to make public. For instance, the Australian Government is aware of a number of Afghan and Iraqi refugees who have made legitimate claims for protection in Australia who are rotting with their wives and children on Lombok and other Indonesian Islands.
Immigration Minister Senator Chris Evans went to Indonesia last week to talk about people-smuggling. Had notthe fact of his visit been leked, we would have no knowldge that he was proposing to continue the work of his predecessor in denying rights to refugees.
Bruce Haigh, Mudge NSW (Canberra Times letter)