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Australia, Indonesia Tackling Refugee Crisis
November 5, 2001
Summary
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said Dec. 4 he will visit Indonesia early next year to discuss the problem of illegal immigrants seeking asylum in his country. Australia desperately needs regional cooperation on the issue, as the war in Afghanistan is keeping the refugee numbers high. Support from Indonesia will lend further credibility to Australia's growing dominance in the region.
Analysis
Australian Prime Minister John Howard told journalists Dec. 4 that he plans to visit Indonesia in February or March of next year. The announcement followed a visit last month to Australia by Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda, during which the two countries agreed to co-host a regional forum in February 2002 on the problem of people-smuggling in the region.
Howard has faced international condemnation of his policy of refusing entry to asylum-seekers. The new cooperation between Jakarta and Canberra signals an improvement in their previously tense relations and will give Australia's immigration policies a boost in the eyes of the international community. This in turn will help Australia to assume a greater role in the region.
The number of refugees coming to Australia has remained consistently high during the past few years. The U.S. Committee for Refugees reported there were nearly 17,000 refugees and asylum-seekers in Australia at the end of 2000. Many are trying to escape the volatile situation in the Middle East and Afghanistan. Afghans made up 54 percent of asylum-seekers arriving to Australia by boat, according to the Refugee Council of Australia's figures for 2000 to 2001; Iraqis totaled 24 percent.
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(c) 2001 Stratfor, Inc.
Dan
Australia, Indonesia Tackling Refugee Crisis . . .