ABC AUSTRALIA, 30/01/2006,22:06:55
Questions about Indonesian involvement with Papuans in
Australia
Australian refugee advocates say they are alarmed by the Indonesian government
making a direct request to Australia's prime minister for the return of 43 people from
the province of Papua.
Indonesian President Suslio Bambang Yudhoyono has assured Australian Prime
Minister John Howard that the group won't be prosecuted if returned.
The group fled the Indonesian province earlier this month, arriving on Cape York
Peninsula, in Australia's far north, two weeks ago.
They were later flown to a detention centre on Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean.
The asylum seekers are claiming genocide at the hands of the Indonesian
government.
Rob Wesley-Smith from the group Australians for a Free West Papua says they
seem to have valid claims for refugee status.
"The people have escaped from there because their lives are at risk, their fathers have
been killed [and] one of them was in jail for a number of years himself," he said.
"This is the reality of the situation in West Papua so no way should they go back -
they'd be killed."
© 2006 Australian Broadcasting Corporation |
