Indonesia’s asylum seeker threat
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Indonesia could release a “human tsunami” of asylum seekers to Australia if Canberra continues to antagonise them over the looming execution of the Bali Nine ringleaders, an Indonesian minister has warned.
Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno, on Tuesday threatened there were more than 10,000 people seeking asylum in Indonesia, many of whom could be on their way to Australia.
The former Navy chief, who is a controversial political figure in Indonesia, said Australia was trying to pressure Indonesia into cancelling the executions by raising the issue of its $1 billion in Boxing Day tsunami aid and discouraging visitors to Bali, Fairfax reports.
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He reminded Australia that Jakarta had been working hard to prevent asylum seekers attempting to travel to Australia in boats.
“If Canberra keeps doing things that displease Indonesia, Jakarta will surely let the illegal immigrants go to Australia,” Mr Tedjo said on Metro TV.
Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo (C), Soelistyo (R), head of National Search and Rescue Agency, and Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno (L). Photo: Getty
“There are more than 10,000 (asylum seekers) in Indonesia today. If they are let go to Australia, it will be like a human tsunami.”
The chief security minister said it was “no big deal” if Australia stopped trading with Indonesia in the wake of the execution of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan.
“We have calculated, in fact, Australia enjoys the surplus on the Indonesia-Australia trade,” Mr Tedjo said.
“Australia will in fact receive pressure domestically if it stops its livestock exports to Indonesia since Indonesia is Australia’s main market.”
Mr Tedjo, who was delivering a speech on nationhood at the School of Law at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, said Australia needed to respect the Indonesian judicial system.
He said a prisoner swap, which was proposed by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop in a last-ditch attempt to save the lives of Chan and Sukumaran, was “unethical”.
“We respect other countries’ legal systems, Australia must learn about ethics here in University of Gadjah Mada,” Mr Tedjo said.
Meanwhile, at the weekend, Indonesian President Joko Widodo defended his decision to reject clemency for foreigners in an interview with Al Jazeera.
But he also said his government would be open to abolishing the death penalty if the Indonesian people wanted change.
Abbott waits for Widodo call
Tony Abbott speaking in Western Australia on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott, meanwhile, continues to plead for the lives of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, describing them as a force for good in the fight against drugs.
The two Bali Nine ringleaders are in isolation on the Indonesian penal island of Nusakambangan, awaiting the outcome of legal appeals against their execution.
Mr Abbott is waiting to hear whether his request to speak again to Mr Widodo about the fate of the two Australians will be accepted.
“I appreciate that we have given this subject a pretty good thrash,” he told reporters in Kalgoorlie on Tuesday.
“I’m keen to talk to him again but, in the end, I can request, he may or may not accept.”
Mr Abbott said Chan and Sukumaran had been a “force for good” in Indonesia’s fight against drugs, describing their rehabilitation as a credit to the country’s penal system.
Authorities are waiting for legal appeals to wrap up before before setting a date for execution.
– with AAP