Sydney – Australia Sunday has signalled a tougher line on refugees from Indonesia's troubled province of Papua as it faced what the foreign minister called a "crisis" in relations with its giant Islamic neighbour.
The two countries are locked in a diplomatic row over Australia's granting of temporary protection visas to 42 Papuans. Jakarta has recalled its ambassador from Canberra."We are talking through the full issue of this crisis, and looking to see what we can do to take things forward," Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said in a television interview.
The refugees, including several independence activists and their families who accused the Indonesians of committing "genocide" in Papua, arrived by boat on Australia's far north coast in mid-January.
The decision to grant them temporary visas to pursue refugee claims has angered Jakarta, which fears the move signals Canberra's support for Papuan independence.
Downer's comments were the latest in a series apparently aimed at both appeasing the Indonesians and discouraging other Papuans from attempting to reach Australia.
Justice Minister Chris Ellison said boats carrying Papuan asylum seekers could be turned back in future.
"We've put in place measures for dealing with people who try to enter our country illegally, and you've seen what we've done in the past and our policy has not changed," he told national radio Sunday.
Asked whether boats carrying Papuans would be forced back to Indonesia, Ellison replied: "Well, it will depend on the circumstances in which we intercept these people, but certainly they will be dealt with as we would deal with any other attempts at illegal entrance into Australia."
He denied a suggestion that forcing refugees back to a place where they could face persecution was a breach of international laws. "The international law that we're upholding is our sovereignty in that we're maintaining our borders," he said.
Prime Minister John Howard on Friday repeated his support for a united Indonesia and the leadership of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, saying the government would review how visas are granted to boatpeople from Papua.
He linked the efforts to maintain good relations with Indonesia, the world's largest Islamic country, to the fight against Islamic militancy and terrorism.
Howard's remarks were seen by the leader of the Australian Greens opposition party, Bob Brown, as indicating the government would try to intercept asylum seekers at sea – an interpretation strengthened by Ellison's comments.
"What the prime minister is aiming to do is to exclude West Papuans from Australia's migration law by closing the coastline and West Papuans who attempt to come here will be intercepted by Australian or Indonesian naval patrols," he said.
Indonesia won sovereignty over Papua, formerly a Dutch colony, in 1969 after a referendum widely seen as a sham.
Papuans have long accused Indonesia's military of violating human rights in the province and complained about the bulk of earnings from its rich natural resources flowing to Jakarta rather than themselves.