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| Down Under |
| Jakarta threatens to axe migration deal with Australia |
| 2006-04-03 |
| INDONESIAN President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has called for a review of all cooperation with Australia, including on illegal migration, amid escalating tensions over Canberra's decision to grant Papuan asylum-seekers temporary visas. "Relations between Indonesia and Australia are entering a difficult time that is full of challenges," Dr Yudhoyono said today. An infuriated Indonesia recalled its ambassador from Canberra last month after Australia granted visas to 42 asylum-seekers from the remote province of Papua, where a low-profile independence struggle has been waged for decades. The group, which arrived in Melbourne today, has alleged that the Indonesian military is perpetrating "genocide" there. Indonesia strenuously denies the claim. Dr Yudhoyono also described a cartoon depicting him rutting a Papuan dog published in The Australian on Saturday as "obscene" and said it could spark public anger. "A row over cartoons is not the solution, but is the problem," he said, calling for Indonesians to stay calm. Dr Yudhoyono said Australia's "inappropriate, unrealistic" decision had prompted the need to review relations between the neighbours. "There is a need for the two governments to conduct dialogue again, serious and intensive diplomatic meetings, to review a strategic and comprehensive framework for cooperation and friendship between Indonesia and Australia for now and for the future," he said. "We should review again the various agreements we have agreed on, for example, cooperation in the field of illegal migration." Indonesia has frequently been used as a stepping stone for illegal migrants to enter Australia. Australia has insisted that the granting of the visas did not mean it supported Papuan independence, an extremely sensitive issue in Indonesia after its former province of East Timor voted to break away in 1999. Indonesia took over Papua, a former Dutch colony, in the 1960s. Dr Yudhoyono thanked Australia for backing the archipelago nation's territorial integrity but said the support needed to be reflected in practice. "The really clear message is that Indonesia wishes and really wants to enter into relations and cooperation with Australia and other countries but without compromising on the sovereignty and honor of Indonesia as a nation," he said. "Indonesia will not tolerate whatever elements, in whichever country, including in Australia, that clearly provide support and play for a separatist movement in Papua," he added. Prime Minister John Howard, who has built a strong relationship with Dr Yudhoyono - the Indonesian President once cracked jokes about Mr Howard's birthday at an address in Canberra last year - also said Sunday relations were going through a "difficult patch". The tensions over Papua led to a tit-for-tat cartoon campaign in newspapers, with a drawing in an Indonesian newspaper depicting Howard and Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer as fornicating dingoes. This was followed by the reply in The Australian on Saturday. |
| Posted by:Oztrailan |
| #3 When the Aussies have war games, the bad guys always look strangely Indonesian. |
| Posted by: RWV 2006-04-03 21:01 |
| #2 Looks like conquest by illegal immigration is about to resume. But this time in Australia. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2006-04-03 19:35 |
| #1 Divorces always get so ugly. But these two don't love each other and have little in common anymore. Best just to admit the relationship is sooo over and move on, something I think Australia is more than happy to do. |
| Posted by: 2b 2006-04-03 11:12 |