Australia keeping eye on its citizens in RI

Australia keeping eye on its citizens in RI

WELLINGTON (AFP): Australia is prepared to act if the lives of
about 10,000 Australians in Indonesia are threatened in renewed
rioting, Australian Chief of Defense Force Adm. Chris Barrie said
here on Tuesday.

He said New Zealand would be expected to help.

Barrie said Australia was watching Indonesia's economic and
political situation closely as it looked to hold free elections
in 1999.

The move comes after the fall of former Indonesian president
Soeharto earlier this year following mass rioting in which 1,200
people were killed.

"The economics in Indonesia don't look very good and when
people start to go without food and don't see much prospect of a
better life in the future that becomes very troublesome," he
said.

"We're going to have to watch it closely ... If violence
erupts on the street in a very dramatic and widespread way and
(Australian) people become threatened or in fear we'll have to do
something about that."

"Any move to evacuate Australians would be a very significant
military operation," the admiral added.

Barrie said he would expect that New Zealand would offer to
help but would not comment on the contingency plans already in
place.

"There are all sorts of contingency plans and some of that
planning is shared across the Tasman," he said.