Throughout history there are examples of relatively minor incidents having far-reaching consequences. The arrival by boat of 43 West Papuan asylum seekers at Cape York on Wednesday is potentially one of those times. Their presence on Australian soil poses particular challenges for the Federal Government as it attempts to reconcile its moves to soften the application of the mandatory detention policy with its efforts to forge a closer relationship with Indonesia.
The Papuans, from the Indonesian province formerly known as Irian Jaya, on the western part of the island of New Guinea, spent five days at sea on a 25-metre wooden canoe before landing at Janey Creek, north of the Aboriginal community of Mapoon. They are seeking refuge, alleging persecution and likely death at the hands of the Indonesian military.
Papuan separatists have been agitating for independence since a 1969 vote, widely regarded as unrepresentative, supported political integration of the former Dutch colony with Indonesia. The situation further deteriorated last week with the deployment of 10,000 Indonesian troops from Aceh and the arrest of 12 separatists.
Long ignored by the rest of the world, West Papua has received greater global attention since East Timor gained independence from Indonesia in 1999. It is significant, although undoubtedly coincidental, that these asylum seekers arrived in Australia on the eve of the release by the East Timorese Government of a United Nations report documenting atrocities carried out by the Indonesian military during 25 years of occupation.
The accounts of slavery, torture and public beheadings along with evidence of the deaths of as many as 180,000 civilians at the hands of the Indonesian military, most of whom remain unpunished, cannot be ignored. They lend credence to the claims of repression by the West Papuan separatists and make less credible the assertion by an Indonesian embassy spokesman that Papuan activists were not persecuted.
Given the negotiations of a security treaty with Indonesia that calls on Australia to pledge not to interfere in its "territorial integrity", the Federal Government is in a delicate position. Granting asylum would mean accepting that the Papuans would be persecuted if they returned home.
But, above all else, the Government must learn the lessons of East Timor and of last year's damning report into the Immigration Department by retired senior policeman Mick Palmer. It is imperative that this country take its international obligations seriously and assess the asylum seekers' claims on their merits, free of political interference.
Immigration Minister Senator Amanda Vanstone's response to the arrival of the Papuans was heartening. She stated clearly that the asylum claim would be assessed on its merits and that relations with Indonesia would not influence any decision relating to this group of people. Now her department has an opportunity to demonstrate that promised changes have been made to the application of immigration policy and to the culture in the department. There should be no repetition of the sort of hysterical scare campaign that has greeted the arrival of "boat people" in the past when the Government relentlessly exploited public fears about asylum seekers.
Beyond this, the issue is a test of Australia's improved relations with Indonesia. If the relationship has matured, our northern neighbour should be able to accept Australia's honouring of its international obligations on human rights.
Indonesia's elected president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, represents a break from his country's past but the nation is still emerging from decades of dictatorship and a period of resentment over Australia's role in East Timor. The question is whether Australia has broken from its recent oppressive policies on asylum seekers. As The Age has asserted previously, seeking asylum is a human right, not a crime. People must not be kept locked up merely because their acceptance may upset the authorities in another country.