Sunday Times 2
Indonesia seeks answers on boat ‘payment’
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Tony Abbott said Australia would stop migrant boats "by hook or by crook" (AFP)
JAKARTA, June 13 (AFP) -Indonesia today demanded answers from Australia over allegations an official paid thousands of dollars to turn back a boat of asylum-seekers, saying such a development would mark a “new low”. The call came after Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Friday refused to deny allegations that the captain and five crew of a boat carrying asylum-seekers were each paid US$5,000 by an Australian immigration official to return to the Southeast Asian nation.
The claims were made to local police on Rote island in eastern Indonesia, where the boat carrying 65 asylum-seekers came ashore late May after being intercepted by the Australian navy. The escalating row risks further damaging relations between Australia and its northern neighbour, which are already tense after Indonesia executed two Australian drug smugglers by firing squad in April.
Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said Jakarta was seeking clarification from Australia on the issue.“We have consistently said that the Australian government’s push-back policy is on a slippery slope,” he told AFP, referring to the Abbott administration’s hard-line policy of turning back asylum boats when it is safe to do so. “If this latest incident is confirmed, this will be a new low for the way that the Australian government is handling this issue.”