Australian may let Acehnese immigrate

Tiarma Siboro and Fadli, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta/Batam

A leading human rights group lamented on Friday an earlier move by Batam officials to deny entry for dozens of Acehnese refugees, while the Australian government offered to give refuge to some survivors of the Dec. 26 Asian tsunami disaster.

The group said that the move by Batam was a result of the central government's poor handling of refugee affairs.

"We cannot blame the Batam administration for refusing the entry of Acehnese refugees because they, indeed, are responsible to register the movement of people in their region.

"The problem is with the central government as it has failed to take immediate action to register and relocate the huge number of refugees from Aceh who have poured into various places nationwide," said Ruffendi Jamin for Aceh Working Group, a coalition of various non-governmental organizations concerned with Aceh issues.

The Batam administration denied on Thursday the entry of dozens of tsunami survivors, arguing that the refugees failed to meet the requirements in its Bylaw No. 2/2001 on population control.

Based on the Bylaw, any visitor who wants to stay in the city has to produce an identity card as well as a return ticket and a cash deposit.

"The central government must provide clear instructions as to whether provincial administrations must waive such entry regulations for the refugees," Ruffendi said.

Meanwhile, Australian Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said that Australia's refugee intake was normally determined on an annual basis in concert with the United Nations, but that could be revised in the case of a major disaster.

"Our refugee and humanitarian intake is settled on an annual basis on advice from the UN as to where we should take people from," she said as quoted by AFP.

"Where there's been a disaster or a crisis has broken out, frequently our intake then shifts to that area to meet that need."

The Acehnese refugees in Batam, meanwhile, were released from a quarantine center on Friday afternoon to stay with their relatives who reside on the island.

"We finally allowed them to enter Batam after we were convinced that they had relatives who they could stay with," head of Sekupang quarantine center Yan Jamaris said. He, however, refused to elaborate when asked if the refugees paid the deposit fee.