TONY Abbotts government capitulated to Indonesia on Friday night, ordering a Customs boat with up to 63 refugees on board to go to Christmas Island. A refugee source in Indonesia contacted Fairfax Media early on Saturday to say the boat had reached the Australian territory on Friday night after immigration minister Scott Morrison failed to convince Indonesia to accept their return. I have friends on the boat, the source said in a text message, and yesterday he says, my boat [has] reached. The arrival is a loss of face for the Coalition, which vowed before the election that Australian authorities would not act as a taxi service for refugees. It also may encourage other people smuggling syndicates to try their hand. The stand-off led the Indonesian minister, Djoko Suyanto, to assert powerfully that the country would never take refugees from Australia under similar circumstances — a declaration that scuttles any chance that Mr Abbotts three-year old promise of turning back boats could become a reality under this Indonesian government. The Indonesian government never agreed to such wishes or policies by Australia, said Indonesian coordinating minister for security, Djoko Suyanto to the ABC on Friday. We have expressed this point of view since the Rudd government and there are no changes in our policy in relation to asylum seekers who want to go to Australia in the current Tony Abbott Government. Australia already has its own detention centres in Nauru and PNG so they should send these asylum seekers ... [there] NOT to Indonesia. Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa also said there was no reason to take back refugees from an Australian ship when their lives where not in danger. Read more: smh.au/national/abbott-government-ends-asylum-seeker-standoff-with-indonesia-20131109-2x85v.html#ixzz2k79utCwM
Posted on: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 03:14:12 +0000