Australia takes a harder line

In an apparent hardening of policy, officials in the Torres Strait have recently sent back Irian Jayans landing on Australian soil in search of refuge.

Four young men from Wom bi village, near Merauke, the key Indonesian provincial out post in southern Irian Jaya, turned up by outrigger canoe on Australia’s Sabai Island on February 6. Their sojourn on Australian soil lasted barely a day before they were rowed back across the narrow channel to the Papua New Guinea mainland.

They took to 13 the number of Irianese known to have sought refuge in the far flung Australian island group. The first group of five had been in the care of Father Tom Mullins, the Catholic priest on Thursday Island, since last August. An other three are in the charge of the Anglican priest at Boigu Island, Father Blanket. One other, who arrived around the same time as the latest four who landed at Sabai was transfer red, perhaps luckily, to Thurs day Island hospital suffering from malaria.

A reticent public personality, Father Mullins has become in creasingly concerned at the fu ture of the Irianese already in the Torres Strait and the pros pects for refuge for any more who might land. Mullins is known to have made plans to sidestep any forcible attempt to deport the Irianese in his care.

The Anglican Bishop of Car pentaria, Tony Hall-Matthews, who also lives on Thursday

Island, has said that he is prepared to physically resist any unjust deportation of Irianese.

Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea has indicated strongly that it will not bow to Australian overtures to take the Irianese in the Torres Strait all of whom crossed Papua New Guinea territory from Irian Jaya to reach Australian soil.

Rather than that, suggests Prime Minister Paias Wingti, Papua New Guinea will expect Australia to take some Irianese refugees following submissions from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

“I am pretty sure the UNHCR will be approaching countries like Australia and New Zealand to take these people.” he said.

In these circumstances, Can berra’s quick repatriation of the four who reached Sabai is being gauged carefully.

Although only a tiny number of Irianese have sought refuge in Australia, compared with the 10,000 and more in camps inside the Papua New Guinea border, their presence has be come a controversial issue in Australia.

Their arrival on Australian territory is seen by some as the culmination of diplomatic fail ure in the 1960’s when Austra lia backed Holland against the cession of what was then the Dutch half of New Guinea, to Indonesia. The Indonesian gov ernment under President Soekamo claimed Irian Jaya as Jakarta’s rightful inheritance, (The United Nations in general ignored the spirited protests of the non-Muslim Melanesians of

Irian Jaya that they were being sold into a new kind of colonial ism Ed.).

A spokesman for the Austra lian Immigration Minister, Chris Hurford, described the deporta tion as a “routine case.” How ever, Church authorities in the Torres Strait say that instruc tions were given from Canberra that the men be returned to Papua New Guinea.

Australian authorities are saying that the deportation, from the remote island outpost of Sabai, was because the men had not asked for political asy lum.

“We were not told of any request or we would not just send them back,” said the immigration spokesman.

The official claimed that the party of Irianese had landed on Australian soil in the aftermath of a heavy drinking bout, but this claim was denied by Father Tom Mullins.

The chairman of the Island Council which administers the Australian border territory, Mr Timothy Akiba, says that he was told by authorities in Can berra to take the men back to the Papua New Guinea main land.

Mr Akiba said that even though only one of the Irianese could speak English, they had still been able to communicate their desire to seek refugee status in Australia.

This man had told Mr Akiba that he and his fellow Irianese were desperately afraid of being returned to Irian Jaya because they believed they would be

shot.

Denis Reinhardt.