RI-Aussie ties unharmed

RI-Aussie ties unharmed
05th June 2007
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2007/06/05/riaussie-ties-unharmed.html-0

I have always admired Bill Farmer, the Australian ambassador to Indonesia. Unlike others of his ilk, he doesn't believe in remaining invisible but prefers to appear in print to defend his country's policies, correct inaccurate news accounts or clarify misunderstandings. I further admire him because instead of delegating such tasks to his various attaches, he is at the forefront himself.
At the moment he has a difficult job of "damage control" over an unfortunate diplomatic row that happened at the Shangri-La Hotel in Sydney. Officials of the New South Wales (NSW) coroner's office reportedly barged into Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso's room without his permission and attempted to serve a summons on him to testify in a court case.
What is most unfortunate is that Governor Sutiyoso was visiting Australia on the invitation of NSW Premier Morris Iemma, with the laudable objective of reviving a dormant sisterhood between NSW and Jakarta.
From recent reports in The Jakarta Post, it is clear that Bill Farmer has successfully defused the situation by gracefully conveying the apologies of the Australian government (which were equally gracefully accepted by Governor Sutiyoso), and has succeeded in protecting the underlying desire of both countries to forge a closer relationship.
K. B. KALE, Jakarta