The West Australian
January 17, 2002

COMMENT:
VOICE OF LEFT NOT RIGHT FOR MIND POLICE

By Andre Malan

THERE is a whiff of thought control in a decision by a Federal Government-funded body, the Australia-Indonesia Institute, not to support an international conference in Perth next month because it doesn't like the views of one of the speakers.

London-based Australian John Pilger is probably the most controversial journalist in the world. A tireless gadfly who has been annoying the Establishment for decades with his undisguised Leftist views, Pilger is also a brave man who has been prepared to risk dangers to expose injustices and corruption in countries from Burma to the Balkans.

He is a fervent anti-globalist and has no friends in business or on either side of politics.

Nowhere are opinions on Pilger more divided than among fellow journalists. While some admire his enterprise and passion, others accuse him of selective use of facts to promote his agenda.

One thing that nobody disputes is that he generates controversy and debate, which is probably why the organisers of the conference at Curtin University on human rights and democracy in Indonesia, Australia and Holland invited him to be a speaker.

Pilger accepted and his topic, The War Against Terrorism: Truth, Silence and Lies, is guaranteed to be a fidget-giver in light of his published opinion that, far from being the terrorists of the world, the Islamic peoples have been its victims.

The organisers also sought, and received, financial support for the conference from the governments of Indonesia and Holland as well as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation and other sources.

One of the applications was to the Australia-Indonesia Institute for $12,000 to cover the cost of bringing speakers to Perth from Indonesia.

The convener of the event, Associate Professor Krishna Sen, of Curtin University, said yesterday that she had been left in no doubt that Pilger's involvement was the sole reason the grant was denied.

She had been told in November that the institute board made the decision because it believed Pilger lacked credibility. However, the institute declined her request to put that view in writing.

Professor Sen also claims that an institute employee told her that she would be burning her bridges with the institute if she made the matter public. She said the problem was one of accountability - that a federally funded body should be allowed to make decisions that it was not required to explain.

Professor Sen said the decision suggested that the board was out of touch with what was required to promote Indonesia-Australia relations in the post-Suharto era.

The chairman of the institute, Philip Flood, confirmed that Pilger's involvement in the conference had been one of the reasons behind the decision not to support it financially.

He said the institute had to assess many more applications for grants than it was able to satisfy. Its charter was to contribute to greater understanding between Australia and Indonesia and the institute felt that a conference involving Pilger was less likely than other applicants to achieve that aim.

A WA representative on the institute board, businessman Harold Clough, admits to having led the opposition to Pilger in the board's discussion but adds that there was no certainty that the grant would have been approved if Pilger were not involved.

Mr Clough says that although he disapproves of Pilger's views on Indonesia, he strongly supports the idea of open debate and will be going to the conference where he expects to meet the maverick journalist.

However, the irony in the situation is that the government of an allegedly repressive nation like Indonesia is apparently happy to support a diversity of opinion, whereas a federally-funded Australian institute is not.

Whether you agree with him or not, a dose of John Pilger would be illuminating for delegates from both countries.

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