'RI cannot deter' the influx of illegal migrants

'RI cannot deter' the influx of illegal migrants

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's efforts to prevent the influx of
illegal migrants is hampered by the sheer size of the country and
the limited facilities to screen visa issuance.

"The government has been discussing measures to regulate visa
issuance, but it is difficult to screen the motivation of
foreigners coming to the country," Foreign Minister Hassan
Wirayuda said on Monday after a meeting with Vice President
Hamzah Haz.

He said that the government was fully aware that the problem
of illegal migrants was closely related to the spread of
terrorism, and the drugs and illicit arms trade, while at the
same time the country needed to boost tourism.

The minister also said that it was also impossible for the
Indonesian Navy to monitor the entire Indonesian coastline to
prevent illegal migrants from entering the country.

"We have millions of square miles of coastline. Sea patrols
are not enough, our country is like a huge house without a
perimeter fence," he said.

"Basically, we need international help and multilateral
cooperation to handle the problem because actually this is not
just our problem, since most of the migrants are heading to
Australia," Hassan said in a press briefing.

The illegal migrants problem came to the fore following the
presence of 438 asylum-seekers mostly from Afghanistan, on board
a Norwegian ship that tried to enter Indonesia last week.

The government firmly refused to accept the freighter and so
did the Australian government.

Hassan further said that despite the diplomatic standoff over
the problem relations between the two countries remained good and
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and Immigration
Minister Phillip Ruddock would make a visit to Indonesia on
Friday.

"We are going to have a consultation meeting with Australia on
defense and immigration issues," he said.

Reuters reported on Monday that an Australian operation to
move 438 asylum seekers from a freighter off Christmas Island to
Papua New Guinea began on Monday.

The troop carrier HMAS Manoora moved to within several
hundred meters of the Norwegian freighter Tampa. Two barges to be
used to transfer the asylum seekers were standing between the two
ships.

The transfer was expected to take up to six hours, with
conditions in Christmas Island's Flying Fish Cove windy and
choppy.

A court, which had been asked to decide if Australia had acted
unlawfully in refusing to accept the mostly Afghan boat people,
lifted an injunction on Monday against moving them. Australia
wants to move the asylum seekers to Papua New Guinea, from where
they will be flown to New Zealand and Nauru.

The Tampa rescued the asylum seekers from a sinking Indonesian
ferry in the Indian Ocean on Aug. 26 and has been the center of
an international diplomatic standoff ever since. (dja)