Aussie boycott continues

Aussie boycott continues

SYDNEY (Reuters): Australian unions said on Tuesday their blanket ban on Indonesian seaborne trade would remain in place until they were convinced the East Timor crisis was coming to end.

One key union said, however, it would handle five cargoes of Indonesian crude oil bought by Australian refineries before the blockade was imposed last Thursday.

One of the biggest unions, The Australian Workers Union, said its bans were not meant to hurt the oil companies.

"At this stage the (overall) ban remains in place and will be maintained until we are satisfied things are returning to some normality and the atrocities that have occurred over there have ceased and are unlikely to start up again," said union official Sam Wood.

One third of Australia's crude oil imports came from Indonesia in 1998 and the ban will have a marked impact the longer it goes.