Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – A key Indonesian parliamentary committee has demanded that the Government of President Megawati Sukarnoputri consider cancelling the Prime Minister's planned visit to Indonesia next month.

The head of the foreign affairs and security committee, Ibrahim Ambong, said yesterday its members wanted the visit stopped because Australia continued to meddle in Indonesia's internal affairs.

One member of parliament on the committee alleged during a reportedly heated debate that Australia was behind the death last November of the Papuan independence leader Theys Eluay. Mr Ambong said other MPs cited an intelligence report which they claimed strongly indicated that "Australia's accomplices had been playing around with the Papua problem" and were at least "very obvious in supporting the move by Papuans to separate from Indonesia".

Committee members wanted John Howard to clarify his stand on Indonesia's territorial integrity and other issues before any visit. "They've been so many things Australia has said or done that hurt our feelings, such as on illegal migrants, East Timor and more recently Papua," Mr Ambong said.

He said he had told the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Hassan Wirajuda, during a committee meeting late on Thursday that MPs from the biggest political parties, including Ms Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, opposed the Howard visit.

But Mr Wirajuda reportedly told the committee that Mr Howard's three-day visit, starting on February 6, had already been scheduled and protocol dictated it could not be cancelled. "Indonesia can pick whoever it wants as good friends but can't shun the neighbours," he was quoted by the Republika newspaper as saying.

Mr Ambong said the committee members were not objecting to Australians. "I suppose the objections refer more to the person, Howard, not Australia as a nation," he said. "Mr Howard has made many comments that hurt Indonesia's feelings."

Mr Howard announced early this month that he had accepted an invitation from Ms Megawati to pay an official visit to Indonesia. "My visit will be an opportunity to discuss a range of important bilateral and regional policy issues with the Indonesian Government and to further strengthen the Australia-Indonesia relationship," Mr Howard said at the time.

Australian officials have arranged for Mr Howard to meet Ms Megawati and Indonesian parliamentary leaders, including the speaker of the highest parliament, Amien Rais.

Mr Ambong stressed yesterday that the committee had decided to make an official recommendation to cancel the visit and was not just criticising it. But Mr Wirajuda's reported comments to the committee make it highly unlikely Ms Megawati would agree to cancel the visit.