A look behind the 'Jakarta Lobby'; 'Pro-Jakarta' lobby examined

MARK COLVIN: One of the key claims in the Collins case is the statement by the Lieutenant Colonel that Australian Defence intelligence on East Timor was distorted by a pro-Jakarta lobby. [Graeme Dobell]: The term "Jakarta lobby" was first applied to Indonesia specialists at the Australian...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inABC Premium News p. 1
Main Author Dobell, Graeme
Format Newsletter
LanguageEnglish
Published Sydney Australian Broadcasting Corporation 15.04.2004
Subjects
Colvin, Mark
Cotton, James
Dobell, Graeme
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Summary:MARK COLVIN: One of the key claims in the Collins case is the statement by the Lieutenant Colonel that Australian Defence intelligence on East Timor was distorted by a pro-Jakarta lobby. [Graeme Dobell]: The term "Jakarta lobby" was first applied to Indonesia specialists at the Australian National University in Canberra 30 years, but the claim of a pro-Jakarta mindset has just as often been levelled at Australian diplomats, especially in the agonised debate about the invasion of East Timor in 1975. The version from the Defence Department is different and hints at the Collins' frustration with a perceived Jakarta lobby. The military view, offered in a report by the Auditor-General, is that Defence had no mandate to plan for a peacekeeping operation in East Timor which did not assume Indonesian agreement. Further, the Auditor-General found Defence planning and pre-positioning of troops in Darwin, close to Timor, was constrained by diplomatic considerations.