Australia earns Indonesia's ire over Timor fisherman<\/p>\n
SYDNEY (DPA): Indonesia complained to Australia on Friday over
\nthe treatment of a Timorese fishermen who survived at sea for
\nnearly a month only to be jailed after a cyclone blew his
\ncrippled craft ashore in a remote part of the Northern Territory.<\/p>\n
Australian authorities have refused an official request for
\n48-year-old David Luan to be moved from a cell in Berimah Prison
\nto a ward at the Royal Darwin Hospital where he can be properly
\ncared for after living on not much more than seaweed for almost a
\nmonth.<\/p>\n
Luan's outrigger drifted more than 1,000 kilometers after its
\noutboard motor broke down.<\/p>\n
Gale force winds whipped up by Cyclone Steve drove him ashore
\nin the Coburg Peninsula where park rangers found him famished,
\ndehydrated and disoriented.<\/p>\n
The rangers described Luan's battle against the elements as a
\n\"remarkable story of survival\" and classed him as seafarer in
\ndistress rather than an illegal immigrant.<\/p>\n
But Luan was put in the slammer to await his repatriation to
\nIndonesia and a reunion with his family in Namfalus, near Kupang,
\non the island of Timor.<\/p>\n
\"He is not a criminal. He is supposed to be treated properly,\"
\nangry Indonesian Vice Consul Arif Soepalal told Australia's AAP.<\/p>\n
Northern Territory Legal Aid director Richard Coates was even
\nmore critical of the attitude of the Australian authorities,
\nsaying it was outrageous that Luan should be jailed when he was
\nguilty of no crime.<\/p>\n
\"We go to enormous efforts to save round-the-world yacht
\npeople and here's someone from our nearest neighbor who is washed
\nup here...It's a bit of a shameful episode,\" Coates said.<\/p>\n
He noted that two years ago English yachtsman Tony Bullimore
\nwas piped ashore in Perth after being saved at enormous expense
\nby the Australian navy.<\/p>\n
Three years ago, Frenchwoman Isabelle Autissier, another
\nwealthy round-the-world sailor, was rescued from the sea at a
\ncost of more than A$1 million (US$600,000).<\/p>\n
Luan, in contrast, saved himself but was not feted when he
\narrived in Darwin. Instead, the impoverished but resourceful
\nfisherman was thrown in jail to await what amounts to
\nextradition.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/australia-earns-indonesias-ire-over-timor-fisherman-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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