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Apology defuses diplomatic row

Supporters of Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso hold a sign reading ''Break off diplomatic relations between Australia and Indonesia'' during an anti-Australian demonstration in front of the Australian embassy in Jakarta yesterday. PHOTO: AP

A prominent Indonesian politician said Australia's ambassador apologized yesterday over his alleged ill treatment during a trip to Sydney, defusing a diplomatic row between the two nations.

Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso, a retired general, said he received the apology from Australian Ambassador Bill Farmer during a meeting between the pair over this week's incident.

Sutiyoso has complained that police entered his hotel room using a master key and urged him to give evidence at an inquest into the death of five Australia-based journalists in East Timor in 1975.

A furious and offended Sutiyoso demanded an apology from Australia while the Indonesian government said his treatment in Sydney on Tuesday was unacceptable.

"We are a nation with a big heart. We have to forgive, even more so because the problem was only a technical problem," Sutiyoso said after the meeting.

"It should not be that because of a technical problem, we continue to demand things that are illogical. The Australian side has apologized and we will get an official apology letter," he told reporters.

An Australian embassy spokesman declined comment over the apology.

Prime Minister John Howard earlier sought to calm the row saying that while coroners conducting inquests acted independently of the government, "proper courtesy should be extended" when they carried out their work.

The incident sparked a flurry of diplomatic activity and the row has received extensive media coverage in Indonesia.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda summoned Farmer late on Wednesday to lodge a formal protest over the incident.

"We have demanded a clarification and accountability from the parties concerned in Australia," a foreign ministry spokesman said yesterday.

"We deem that the actions of the local police personnel are unacceptable and inappropriate, even more so because Sutiyoso was there as a government official at the invitation of the local government," spokesman Kristiarto Legowo said.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer also spoke on Wednesday night with his Indonesian counterpart, the embassy in Jakarta said.

Security was stepped up outside the Australian embassy as youths gathered for a second day to protest Sutiyoso's treatment, ElShinta radio said.

Sutiyoso has said police entered his room in Sydney while he was taking a nap with a subpoena requesting that he give evidence at the inquest.

Sutiyoso, who had been the guest of the New South Wales Government and the state premier, cut short his visit and flew back to Jakarta.

The inquest in Sydney is probing the death of a cameraman who was among five British, Australian and New Zealand newsmen killed in the border town of Balibo ahead of the Indonesian military's invasion of East Timor in 1975.

The journalists were officially reported to have been killed in crossfire, but their families insist they were murdered and there was a cover-up by Canberra and Jakarta.

Sutiyoso, a retired lieutenant general, served in the military for three decades and was part of Indonesia's occupation of East Timor. He has denied any role in the killings.
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