Indonesia, Australia leaders to meet to mend ties

JAKARTA - Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Australian Prime Minister John Howard are to meet late this month in a bid to repair relations soured when Canberra granted 42 Papuans asylum.

The two would meet on June 26 on the Indonesian resort island of Batam, a presidential spokesman told reporters yesterday.

Indonesia's ambassador to Australia, recalled in protest after the Papuan boat people obtained asylum in March, would go back to Canberra, the spokesman said.

"Our ambassador will return to Australia, soon, very soon," he said.

The Papuan asylum issue caused the most serious disruption in bilateral ties since Australia led a UN force to end bloodshed in East Timor after its 1999 independence from Indonesia.

The Papua issue is highly sensitive in Indonesia, an island archipelago which has for decades fought secessionist movements.

Papuan independence activists have campaigned for more than 30 years to split from Indonesia, while a low-level rebellion has also simmered.

Human rights groups accuse Jakarta of widespread abuses there, and the 42 Papuans who sought asylum said they feared becoming victims of genocide. Jakarta denies such charges.

Australia's decision to grant them refugee status led Jakarta to accuse Canberra of supporting Papua's independence movement.

Talks last month between the two foreign ministers eased tensions, with Australia publicly stressing that it recognised Indonesian rule over Papua.

Canberra has said it is prepared to include that recognition in a planned bilateral security treaty.

- REUTERS