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Let the boat people cross to Oz: Lawmaker
The government is being urged to relax its preventive measures against boat people using Indonesia as a stepping stone in their onward journeys to Australia
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he government is being urged to relax its preventive measures against boat people using Indonesia as a stepping stone in their onward journeys to Australia.
A member of the House of Representatives' Commission I on defense, foreign affairs and information, Susaningtyas Handayani Kertopati, said on Tuesday that the government should no longer seek to prevent boat people, most of whom come from the Middle East, from making the crossing to Australia.
'We are in a better position than Australia. This issue [boat people] could be utilized as a bargaining chip in demanding apology from Prime Minister Tony Abbott," Susaningtyas said.
She went on to say that the Indonesian government needed to be tougher in its stance on the boat people issue, alleging that Australia used the migrants, while in Indonesia, as informants to gather intelligence.
The issue surrounding boat people is highly politically sensitive in Australia, and it has been regularly utilized by politicians in their campaigns to win elections. During his recent general election campaign, Abbott promised voters to reduce the number of boat people reaching Australian territory by forging closer relations with Indonesia.
The bilateral relationship between the two neighbors quickly turned sour, however, on Monday after reports that the Australian Signals Directorate allegedly wiretapped the phones of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, First Lady Ani Yudhoyono and several ministers in 2009. (hans)
