Asylum seekers weighing options

Asylum seekers weighing options

JAKARTA (JP): Nine East Timorese who have been camped out at
the Australian Embassy for the past nine days continued to ponder
their future yesterday after Canberra rejected their bids for
asylum.

Embassy spokesperson Joanne Eyre told The Jakarta Post that
the Timorese were now weighing their options after being told
that their request had been denied.

She explained that the seven men and two women "provided no
basis" for consideration for asylum, thus leaving themselves open
to the possibilities of either going to Portugal, applying for an
Australian visa, or leaving the embassy.

The East Timorese entered the embassy compound by scaling the
fences on Feb. 7 and requested asylum in Australia.

Their move extends the number of East Timorese "fence jumpers"
who have been seeking political asylum at various embassies.

In the past six months, some 68 East Timorese, by lodging
themselves in various embassies in Jakarta, have received passage
to Portugal after having their initial requests for asylum
rejected by the embassies' respective governments.

Eyre said the nine East Timorese in the Australian Embassy
were aware of the possibility of seeking shelter to Portugal, but
they had made no decision yet.

"It could take a long time before they do come to a decision,"
she added.

She nevertheless refuted rumors suggesting the East Timorese
planned to stay in the embassy until the Australian elections
scheduled for March 2 to make their point to Australian voters.

"It (the suggestion) is not based on fact," she said.

She added that the embassy was in contact with International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) officials who were overseeing
their welfare.

While recognizing the 1976 integration of the former
Portuguese colony as Indonesia's 27th province, Australia remains
one of the strongest critics of Jakarta's policies in East Timor.

Australia continues to be a popular refuge for East Timorese
dissidents leaving the country. (mds)