Australia deports 401 Indonesians

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.