Australia deports 401 Indonesians

KUPANG, East Nusatenggara (Antara): The Australian government deported 401 Indonesian fishermen last year for illegally entering Australia's territory, a local Indonesian official said here yesterday.

"Most of them were caught by Australian patrols as they fished for sharks and sea slugs in Australian waters," Lukman Hakim, the head of the organization for social support at the local Ministry of Social Services office, said.

He said that the deportations of the 401 fishermen were conducted through cooperation between the Australian government and Indonesian embassy in Canberra.

"All of them were taken by plane to the El Tari International Airport in Kupang. Upon arrival in Kupang, they were required to participate in an education and training program before being sent back to their hometowns," Lukman said.

The deported fishermen consisted of 203 people from Rote Island and several other districts around Kupang. The rest were natives of East Timor, West Nusatenggara, Maluku, South Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, East Java, and Riau provinces.

Lukman said that the Australian Government briefly detained the illegal fishermen before deporting them. It also confiscated their fishing boats as evidence, later burning the vessels and their contents, in accordance with regulations.