Australia denied yesterday it is using Indonesia as a dumping ground for unwanted boat people after Canberra sent 14 Turkish asylum seekers back to Jakarta.
The men, who arrived in Australia on a fishing boat from Indonesia, were questioned by immigration officials before being returned under navy escort over the weekend.
"What do they think Indonesia is -- a trash bin for these people?" Indonesian immigration spokesman Ade Dachlan reportedly told Australian Associated Press on Wednesday. He said Jakarta has launched an investigation to "see if what the Australian government did was wrong."
Dachlan said yesterday he did not make the "trash bin" comment but added that Jakarta and Canberra had an agreement that Australia should accept asylum seekers "and not throw them back to Indonesia."
Dachlan said the men told Indonesian authorities they do not want to return to Turkey and want asylum in Australia. "When we finish the investigation, we will announce our official position," he said.
But Australia's Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said Canberra acted properly and with the cooperation of Indonesian authorities.
"Is Australia treating Indonesia as a dumping ground, certainly not," she told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio.
The UN refugee agency has also criticized Australia for turning away the men, who claimed to be Turkish Kurds. They arrived at Australia's Melville Island on Nov. 4 and are now at an immigration center in Jakarta.
"Our main concern is that people who are already vulnerable have been made even more vulnerable by Australia's neglect of its international obligations," said Jean Marie Fakhouri, who heads the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) Bureau for Asia and the Pacific.
The Australian government has taken a tough but domestically popular stance against asylum seekers.
Vanstone and Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer claimed on Sunday the men did not tell officials they wanted to seek asylum.
However -- after the men told UNHCR officials they had pleaded with Australian authorities for asylum -- Downer ordered an investigation.
When the 14 men arrived, Canberra issued regulations to cut Melville Island from the country's migration zone, preventing them from applying for asylum.
Vanstone said yesterday that even if they had asked for asylum it was "not relevant ... because Melville Island had been excised," from the migration zone.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
RSS