ID :
104632
Thu, 02/04/2010 - 17:58
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/104632
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A'LIAN PEOPLE SMUGGLING ENVOY STARTS RI VISIT
Jakarta, Feb 4 (ANTARA) - Australian Ambassador for People Smuggling Peter Woolcott kicked off a two-day visit here Thursday for strengthening the two countries' cooperation in the war on human trafficking.
"He is in Indonesia today and tomorrow (Friday)," spokesperson of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta Jenny Dee told ANTARA.
During his short visit, Ambassador Woolcott would meet Indonesian foreign ministry and immigration's officials and those of the UNHCR and International Organization for Migration, she said.
The people smuggling issues and efforts of Australia and Indonesia to strengthen their bilateral cooperation in dealing with the crimes would generally be discussed, she said.
However, Dee downplayed the possibility that Ambassador Woolcott would specifically talk about the Sri Lankan asylum seekers who refuse to disembark from their wooden ship in Merak, Banten Province.
The case of the Sri Lankans stuck in Merak was an Indonesian government affair, she said.
More than 200 Sri Lankan Tamils had failed to reach Australian waters after an Indonesian patrol boat intercepted their wooden ship in the Sunda Strait on Oct 10, 2009.
The matter had drawn the attention of both the government and media in the two countries.
With regard to these Sri Lankan asylum seekers, Foreign Minister Smith said they should leave their boat on their own accord to enable the UNHCR to do its work.
"We've made it clear that - publicly, as I have - that we would want the people on the boat in Merak to voluntarily embark from the boat to enable processing to occur," he said.
Smith announced the appointment of Peter Woolcott as Australian ambassador for people smuggling affairs on June 8, 2009.
The appointment of the senior diplomat who had been accredited to Indonesia in 2001 and 2002, replacing Michael Potts, was proof of Australia's seriousness in combating people smuggling, trafficking-in-persons, and other transnational crimes with countries in the Asia Pacific region.
Over the past three years, Australia has been continually bugged by the arrivals of asylum seeker boats in its waters.
As per February 4, 2010, Australian patrol boats had captured at least seven boatloads of asylum seekers.
The latest vessel was captured by HMAS Larrakia, operating under the control of Australia's Border Protection Command, on February 1. It brought 181 passengers and four crew members.
The Australian government has consistently categorized
people smuggling as a global and regional problem.
The UNHCR 2008 Global Trends report said that there were 42 million forcibly displaced persons worldwide at the end of 2008, including 15.2 million refugees.
As in the previous cases, the passengers of the captured boats were transported to the Australian Immigration's detention center on Christmas Island to undergo security, identity and health checks as well as their reasons for travel established.
The Indonesian Consulate in Perth noted that there were a number of Indonesians among the captains and crew members of the boats bringing asylum seekers to Australia.
(T.R013/A/HAJM/B003)
"He is in Indonesia today and tomorrow (Friday)," spokesperson of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta Jenny Dee told ANTARA.
During his short visit, Ambassador Woolcott would meet Indonesian foreign ministry and immigration's officials and those of the UNHCR and International Organization for Migration, she said.
The people smuggling issues and efforts of Australia and Indonesia to strengthen their bilateral cooperation in dealing with the crimes would generally be discussed, she said.
However, Dee downplayed the possibility that Ambassador Woolcott would specifically talk about the Sri Lankan asylum seekers who refuse to disembark from their wooden ship in Merak, Banten Province.
The case of the Sri Lankans stuck in Merak was an Indonesian government affair, she said.
More than 200 Sri Lankan Tamils had failed to reach Australian waters after an Indonesian patrol boat intercepted their wooden ship in the Sunda Strait on Oct 10, 2009.
The matter had drawn the attention of both the government and media in the two countries.
With regard to these Sri Lankan asylum seekers, Foreign Minister Smith said they should leave their boat on their own accord to enable the UNHCR to do its work.
"We've made it clear that - publicly, as I have - that we would want the people on the boat in Merak to voluntarily embark from the boat to enable processing to occur," he said.
Smith announced the appointment of Peter Woolcott as Australian ambassador for people smuggling affairs on June 8, 2009.
The appointment of the senior diplomat who had been accredited to Indonesia in 2001 and 2002, replacing Michael Potts, was proof of Australia's seriousness in combating people smuggling, trafficking-in-persons, and other transnational crimes with countries in the Asia Pacific region.
Over the past three years, Australia has been continually bugged by the arrivals of asylum seeker boats in its waters.
As per February 4, 2010, Australian patrol boats had captured at least seven boatloads of asylum seekers.
The latest vessel was captured by HMAS Larrakia, operating under the control of Australia's Border Protection Command, on February 1. It brought 181 passengers and four crew members.
The Australian government has consistently categorized
people smuggling as a global and regional problem.
The UNHCR 2008 Global Trends report said that there were 42 million forcibly displaced persons worldwide at the end of 2008, including 15.2 million refugees.
As in the previous cases, the passengers of the captured boats were transported to the Australian Immigration's detention center on Christmas Island to undergo security, identity and health checks as well as their reasons for travel established.
The Indonesian Consulate in Perth noted that there were a number of Indonesians among the captains and crew members of the boats bringing asylum seekers to Australia.
(T.R013/A/HAJM/B003)
