TNI backs government policy on illegal migrants
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Military (TNI) says it fully supports the government policy rejecting a Norwegian freighter carrying 438 asylum seekers, mostly Afghans, and will prevent the ship from entering Indonesian waters.
TNI spokesman Rear Air Marshall Graito Usodo said on Thursday that the TNI uses government policy as the basis for its actions, "and since the government has decided to reject the freighter, the TNI will do everything that is necessary to uphold the decision".
"But we will follow international rules of engagement in preventing any kind of ships from entering Indonesian waters. Therefore, we will take preventative measures according to the regulations," Graito told The Jakarta Post.
The Norwegian ship Tampa tried to enter Australian territorial waters on Monday, but received the same treatment, with the country also refusing to accept them.
Currently, the ship is floating in international waters off Australia's remote Christmas Island, located between Indonesia and Australia.
Graito said that, currently, the TNI has yet to initiate an operation to prevent the ship from entering Indonesian waters and had only monitored the freighter's whereabouts.
"Since we underlined the TNI policy in support of the government policy, from what we know, the ship is still in international waters and we will not start the operation," he remarked.
The Indonesian government decided to reject the freighter, saying that the refugees would only add to the government's problems, already burdened by a large number of illegal migrants.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson called on Australia to admit the refugees, saying that the country bore "primary responsibility" for their fate.
"The convention provides that they should be accepted at the nearest port and I think the issue is a very serious one. At least their situation should be assessed," she said, as quoted by Associated Press.
"They should be admitted, they should be treated in an appropriate human-rights way.
"Indonesia also has responsibility but I believe Australia has the primary responsibility at the moment," she added.
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister John Howard briefed U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the stalemate developing over the asylum seekers, saying that it would be much better if the UN were properly involved in such matters.
"The more that the United Nations is properly involved then the more appropriate it is," he said as quoted by Dow Jones.
He reiterated that he expects to speak with Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri after a cabinet meeting later on Thursday to further discuss the issue.
Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda also called on the international organization to deal with the problem, saying that it was impossible for Indonesia to accept the refugees.
"We do not have the facilities or funds to deal with them, so we need international cooperation to deal with the matter," he said after the Cabinet meeting, adding that he would have a discussion with his Australian counterpart regarding the issue.
"Our stance will not change and I will have further discussions with the Australian foreign minister over the issue," he remarked.
Hassan also said the government would tighten controls to restrict people from entering the country, in cooperation with neighboring countries.
"Malaysia also has a similar problem to us. Many illegal immigrants enter the country with fake passports and visas, so we need to make more of an effort to monitor the organized human trafficking," he said.
"We are also considering establishing some detention centers for the illegal migrants so that we can deal with the issue properly," he added.
Separately, Immigration Office public relations officer Ade E. Dahlan, said there were no plans to admit the refugees and place them in the immigration quarantine house on Lombok island. (dja/06)