Furious Yudhoyono shuns Obama after WikiLeaks revelations
The Age
Tuesday March 15, 2011
A PLANNED telephone conversation between US President Barack Obama and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was cancelled because US diplomats reported to Washington that the Indonesian leader and his family were allegedly implicated in corruption.The conversation had been arranged before The Age revealed the allegations in the US cables, which were obtained from WikiLeaks. They have been vehemently denied by Dr Yudhoyono and some of those cited in the cables as sources.Mr Obama was to have telephoned Dr Yudhoyono on Friday but "when the WikiLeaks thing broke, it didn't happen" said one well-placed source, adding the original purpose of the call was to discuss the approaching East Asia Summit in Indonesia.There is little doubt that, had the call proceeded, Mr Obama would have followed the example of his envoy in Jakarta, Scot Marciel, and expressed his regret over the allegations.Dr Yudhoyono's spokesman, Teuku Faizasyah, confirmed there was no telephone call, but played down its significance. "The scheduling for these kinds of calls is always fluid," he said.But US-Indonesian relations have been strained by the cables and their reports that Dr Yudhoyono blocked a corruption probe into a political powerbroker, Taufik Kiemas, used intelligence services to spy on rivals and received funding from controversial businessman Tomy Winata through a middleman.The cables also included allegations that Dr Yudhoyono's wife Kristiani Herawati, mooted as his possible successor, used her position "to profit personally by acting as a broker or facilitator for business ventures".Mr Marciel was hauled in to receive a "strong protest" from Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa on Friday.The Indonesian government has denounced the allegations as "completely without foundation".An analyst with the political consultancy LSI, Burhanudin Muhtadi, said Dr Yudhoyono was angry about the content of the cables and their publication."SBY sees himself as an international darling," he said. "He is very upset that the US embassy in Indonesia was spying on him and reporting in such an improper and unhappy manner."Even before the WikiLeaks cables were revealed, there were signs Indonesia's relations with the US were under pressure, despite Mr Obama having spent four years in Jakarta as a child.Mr Obama twice postponed visits before spending fewer than 24 hours in Jakarta in November. While Mr Obama earned plaudits for his positive rhetoric and quips in the Indonesian language, there was little of substance to emerge from the visit.China, India, Japan and Korea have announced multibillion-dollar business deals with Indonesia that dwarf anything advanced by the US.Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Michael Tene said the two countries would move past the tensions caused by the WikiLeaks release. "In the long run, I think that the relationship will remain strong," he said.The Australian government confirmed it had received feedback from Indonesia."Some Indonesians have raised the WikiLeaks reports informally with Australian officials in Jakarta," a Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said.
© 2011 The Age
