Indonesia offers Australia an island to house refugees
As refugee crisis escalates, Indonesia has decided to offer one of its islands to Australia to house refugees and asylum seekers temporarily.
However, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Panjaitan announced that Australia has to finance their period of housing entirely. "A delegation of Australian officials is slated to be in Jakarta in late December to further discuss the issue," he said, according to AAP.
The news of the offer came after Panjaitan visited Canberra to revitalise ties with Australia earlier this week.
The initiative has been taken as a large number of refugees often get stranded in Indonesia or are sent back by the Australian navy while on their way to Australia. In addition, refugees or asylum seekers are often sent to Nauru or Papua New Guinea if Australian authorities remain apprehensive of their behaviour. As a result, many opt for sea journeys for illegal smuggling.
Channel News Asia reports that the asylum seekers, who reach Indonesia, have the potential to spark off conflict with the poverty-stricken locals. Panjaitan also cited fears of potential terrorist attacks.
Meanwhile, during the Vietnam refugee crisis (1970s), Indonesia had taken the initiative to set camp on Galang Island near Batam that accommodated nearly 170,000 Vietnamese refugees. Going by the reports of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are 7,666 asylum seekers and 5,739 refugees in Indonesia as of September 2015.
Panjaitan further said that nothing has been finalised yet and a delegation of Australian officials would be visiting Jakarta soon for conducting extensive discussions over the issue.
Meanwhile, special advisor for legal affairs at the Office of Presidential Chief of Staff, Lambock V Nahattands has called on to maintain caution while planning for such an initiative. He further said that Australia would have to guarantee that the decision was welcomed by the third world countries as well.
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