Australians studying Asia:
the ASAA 1976-1997

http://coombs.anu.edu.au/SpecialProj/ASAA/King/King01.html

Rebecca King

Chapter Two: Political Protest

Whether the ASAA should itself establish and express formal political positions, or rather provide a forum for individual members to debate and inform their personal responses to political issues, has been argued vigorously. The Association has regularly taken a strong political stand on specific issues of domestic public policy at State and Federal level, especially in education. The issue of the Association making statements on behalf of the membership, about contentious matters of public policy and especially relating to Asia, remains unresolved and specific issues are still argued on a case by case basis.

The issue was debated by President John Legge and Dr David Marr in the first two numbers of the Review and the question of 'what sort of ASAA?' the membership desired and deserved was raised. Legge championed the adoption of the Chatham House convention used by the Institute of International Affairs, whereby the Association would be precluded by rules from expressing opinion[1]. He was anxious to avoid any schism in the membership and argued spiritedly against the Association expressing opinions on controversial political matters, since representing the entire membership with a single opinion was potentially divisive. The Association could act as a forum for lively debate and discussion, but like its American counterpart, the Association for Asian Studies (AAS) it should affirm a non-political role. The non-partisan attitude adopted by the AAS during the Congressional hearings in the McCarthy period had become established policy, but subsequently politically active Asianists, responding to US involvement in Vietnam formed a separate group, the Committee for Concerned Asian Scholars (CCAS)[2]. Marr argued that if the Association made no official comment on contentious issues it would be abdicating a legitimate role in protecting colleagues from political attack: a non-political ASAA would not be able to defend academics against McCarthy style harassment. Legge responded that his position would not perforce prevent discussion of such matters within the Association.

A particular, if trivial, example of the type of dissension that Legge wished to avoid was the resignation of Professor Joyce Ackroyd from the ASAA 1980 Conference Working Party. The Council had invited Gough Whitlam to deliver the conference address and she strongly objected. Ackroyd claimed to be responding to his personality rather than politics and believed that his presence represented a lowering of academic standards for the Association[3]. Whitlam was then no longer a major political player but remained a partisan public intellectual and the resignation can only be interpreted in that context.

As a forum for debate of controversial issues the Association has provided two platforms: the Review and the biennial conferences. In November 1981 the Review editor Jamie Mackie invited members to consider it as a forum for discussing political issues, in this case racism, and not simply for the expression of the corporate views of the ASAA[4]. In 1984 a letter to the editor complained about the gentility of the Review, and Mackie cited this to remind members that views on controversial topics were welcomed, but contentious views were seldom expressed in submissions for publication[5]. The implications of this lack of debate in the Association's journal must be acknowledged.

An early objective of the ASAA was bringing knowledge about Asia to an Australian public ignorant of the region and its people. This idea of influencing the broader community was inherent in the initial vision of the ASAA and can be recognised in the Second Biennial Conference lecture delivered by Stephen FitzGerald in 1978. He invited the conference to fulfil its responsibilities to the public by initiating debate on controversial issues. He accepted that the Association could in fact self destruct if it were to make statements on all divisive issues, especially those where the membership took divergent positions; however common ground or a 'united front' on controversial issues was to be publicised when it occurred. FitzGerald saw the contemporary issues of IndoChina and human rights as areas where the Association had a duty to contribute to a better understanding by the public through the use of the media[6].

The Association has taken equivocal positions and varying approaches to controversial political matters not only in relation to Asia-related human rights but also the rights of Australian and Asian academics. Despite FitzGerald's prompting these have generally been expressed as protests to governments rather than as media releases. The Association's lack of success in promoting a broad understanding of Asia in the community at large may reflect the paucity of such statements.

There are nonetheless some specific examples of political activity. At the 1980 Conference the welfare of Dr Syed Husin Ali, an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Malaya who was in his sixth year of detention without trial was discussed. A motion that the Association should contact the Malaysian government was amended to draw the attention of the meeting to a petition[7]. In 1980 Professor Rokuro Hidaka, a Japanese scholar, was invited by Monash University and La Trobe University as a visiting professor. In January 1981 the Australian government rejected his application for a visa on the grounds that he had been associated with the Japanese Red Army; an allegation he denied. At the August 1981 Meeting Council registered its regret that the visa was withheld and asked the President and two other members to make representations to the Minister for Immigration[8]. At the 1982 Conference Dr Stephen Large moved a motion, seconded by Dr Yoshio Sugimoto, to telex John Hodges, Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs urging him to reconsider the case[9]. The motion was carried with nine abstentions (including some government employees). The telex indicated that the decision against Hidaka was causing concern in both countries for the future of Australia-Japan scholarly exchange[10].

The 1984 AGM in Adelaide was dominated by heated and emotional debates concerning the merits of the Association taking a formal political stand on immigration. Dr Lincoln Li and Dr Charles Coppel in particular argued that the ASAA should give members an opportunity to express views but it should not adopt a formal position. Professor Sinnappah Arasaratnam and Professor Peter Reeves put forward a successful motion to have the Association condemn the racist overtones of the Blainey immigration debate[11]. At the same conference a formal motion concerning the death of Irianese anthropologist Arnold Ap while in the custody of Indonesian security forces was entertained but the matter was dealt with through a petition signed by individual members[12]. The difference in the way that these two matters were handled was consistent with the notion that it was appropriate to respond to a fellow Australian academic, but not to comment on the affairs of a foreign government[13]. At the 1986 AGM in Sydney the merit or otherwise of the ASAA being entirely apolitical was again debated. The motion was put by John Legge on behalf of Dr Peter Burns: that the ASAA was to promote venues for debate of political controversy relevant to Asia but that the Association would not take a position, and individuals, while able to identify themselves as members could not speak for the Association as a whole. The motion was lost[14].

Following a motion adopted at the 1988 General Meeting President Elaine McKay wrote to the High Commissioner for Malaysia to protest about the detention since late 1987 of more than thirty people including several academics 'whom we hold in high regard' under Malaysia's Internal Security Act[15]. An example of protest about the treatment of Australian scholars can be seen in the Council Meeting of February 1991 which directed Secretary Dr Colin Brown to write a letter to Prime Minister Hawke protesting against his personal attacks on the media commentaries of Associate Professor Robert Springborg and Dr Achmad Shboul during the Gulf War[16].

The view that the Association should not generally comment on the affairs of a foreign government was confronted at the 1994 AGM in Perth. David Hill tabled a motion under 'Any other business', that the Association send a letter to the Indonesian Parliament regarding the closure of three news magazines, expressing regret at the closures and supporting those Indonesians calling for a reversal of the decision. In the debate it was pointed out that action on this would leave the ASAA open to allegations of being selective, since no protest had been submitted on other substantive matters such as the Dili massacre. It was argued that a motion passed at a meeting of under fifty[17] could not represent the views of the 800 members but the alternative view that as a properly constituted meeting it was authorised to act on behalf of the Association was put. The motion was adopted by a vote of 18:10. It was subsequently resolved that substantive matters of a controversial nature be required to be notified on the circulated agenda paper and advertised at the commencement of the meeting. This was carried 12:3[18].

The position on contentious matters of public policy remains unresolved though there have often been attempts, explicit or implicit and not always successful, to maintain a cohesive and undivided Association. In 1977 the Council decided not to prepare a submission for the Williams Committee[19] partly because it would raise controversial questions not already discussed at a General Meeting. Questions about the value of classical or area studies, and about the priorities to accord to language teaching (extensively explored by the Basham Committee) were recognised as potentially divisive or offensive[20]. This example from 1977 may reflect the Association forming and defining policy, but subsequent submissions and reports have often placed great emphasis on involvement by the grassroots of the membership through surveys and the committee structure.

Footnotes

[1] Legge, JD, 'What sort of ASAA?', ASAA Review, vol1, no1, July 1977, pp1-4, Marr, D 'What sort of ASAA - a response', ASAA Review, vol1, no2, November 1977, pp4-6, 'John Legge replies', ASAA Review, vol1, no2, November 1977, pp6-7.

[2] Hucker, CO, The Association for Asian Studies: an interpretative history, Association for Asian Studies Occasional Papers, no1, 1973, pp19, 77-81.

[3] Letter from Joyce Ackroyd to Colin Mackerras. MS8054, 13/9/88 consignment, box 1 of 6. Ackroyd, JI, 'Correspondence', ASAA Review, vol3, no1, July, 1979, p5.

[4] Mackie, J, 'Commentary', ASAA Review, vol5, no2, November, 1981, pp41-44, p42.

[5] Mackie, J, 'Commentary', ASAA Review, vol7, no3, April, 1984, pp64-67, p64.

[6] FitzGerald, S, 'The Asian Studies Crisis ASAA, Government and People. Conference Lecture, Second National Conference of the Asian Studies Association of Australia May 1978', ASAA Review, vol2, no1, July 1978, pp1-13, pp7-9. Second Biennial ASAA Conference, University of New South Wales, 14-18 May, 1978.

[7] 'Minutes of the Biennial General Meeting of the Asian Studies Association of Australia held on Tues 26 August 1980 at Griffith University, Brisbane'. Private Papers of Helen Jarvis.

[8] 'Minutes of the Council Meeting of the ASAA held on Saturday 29 August 1981 at the University of New South Wales'. In folder labelled 'Council Meeting August 1981', MS8054, 13/9/88 consignment, box 3 of 6. Ingleson, J, 'August Council Meeting', ASAA Review, vol5, no2, November, 1981, pp45-47, p47.

[9] At the same time a petition was raised for Professor Hidaka's visa. Fourth Biennial ASAA Conference, Monash University, 10-14 May, 1982.

[10] 'Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Asian Studies Association of Australia held at Rotunda Theatre 1, at Monash University, Clayton, Victoria at 2.00pm, on Wed 12th May, 1982'. In folder labelled 'Council and Executive meeting 1980-1982', MS8054, 13/9/88 consignment, box 1 of 6. It was reported in ASAA Review, vol7, no2, November, 1983, at p44 that on the 14th of July 1983 Stewart West the Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs in the new government, announced that Professor Hidaka was allowed to enter Australia. He subsequently visited Australia.

[11] The popular debate on Australian immigration instigated by Australian Historian Geoffrey Blainey. Letter from John Ingleson (ASAA Secretary) to R Hawke (Prime Minister), 29 May 1984. Private papers of John Ingleson. Letter from John Ingleson (ASAA Secretary) to A Peacock (Leader of the Opposition), 29 May 1984. Private papers of John Ingleson. Letter from John Ingleson (ASAA Secretary) to S West (Minister for Immigration), 29 May 1984. Private papers of John Ingleson.

[12] Li, L, 'Australia in Asia: Asia in Australia', ASAA Review, vol8, no1, July, 1984, pp13-16, p14. McKay, EM, pp177-199, in Chandler, DP and Ricklefs, MC (eds), Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Indonesia: Essays in honour of Professor JD Legge, Clayton, Vic, 1986, p195. Fifth Biennial ASAA Conference, University of Adelaide, 13-19 May, 1984. 'Australia in Asia: Asia in Australia, prospects and problems of increasing interaction'.

[13] McKay, EM, pp177-199, in Chandler, DP and Ricklefs, MC (eds), Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Indonesia: Essays in honour of Professor JD Legge, Clayton, Vic, 1986, pp194-195.

[14] Letter from Peter Burns to Christine Inglis (Convenor, 1986 ASAA Conference), 22 October 1985. Private papers of John Ingleson. 'Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Asian Studies Association of Australia held at the University of Sydney on 15 May 1986'. Private papers of John Ingleson.

[15] Letter from Elaine McKay (ASAA President) to The High Commissioner for Malaysia, 1 March 1988. Private Papers of Helen Jarvis.

[16] 'ASAA Council Meeting 6 December 1991 Secretary's Report'. In folder labelled 'ASAA General ', MS8054, 24/7/92 consignment, box 1 of 4.

[17] The minutes record 47 members as present at the meeting however when this point is made a figure of 'approximately thirty members' present at that stage of the meeting is used to argue the issue.

[18] Annual General Meeting Minutes, 14 July 1994. (http://www.ssn.flinders.edu.au/asian/agm/agm94-1.htm) (15/2/1997). Council Minutes, 28 August 1994. (http://www.ssn.flinders.edu.au/asian/council/94-3.htm) (15/2/1997).

[19] Education, training and employment : report of the Committee of Inquiry into Education and Training, February 1979, Canberra.

[20] Letter from JD Legge to ST Leong, 14 June 1977. In folder labelled 'ASAA Council Meeting', MS8054, 13/9/88 consignment, box 2 of 6.

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