Local police chief `fooled'; migrants flee to Australia: 45 Asylum seekers from Afghanistan have fled

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Up to 41 asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Turkey fled to Australia by chartered boat after a local police chief was said to have been fooled by a telephone caller who is now suspected to have been a people smuggler.

An unidentified caller who claimed he was an official at the National Police headquarters in Jakarta ordered West Sabu Police chief First Insp. Kalansansius Dhosa to release the asylum seekers then in his custody.

The caller, now suspected to have been a member of a human trafficking ring in West Nusa Tenggara, asked the West Sabu Police to release the asylum seekers because they were about to be moved to Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara.

As the boat containing the asylum seekers arrived at the Sabu Raijua Port, it suddenly changed course and headed off in the direction of Australia.

East Nusa Tenggara Police chief Brig. Gen. Antonius Bambang Suedi confirmed the details of the escape.

"The caller is believed to have been at the port, so when the immigrants arrived, they were immediately placed on the boat to Australia," said Bambang.

"According to the explanation from the West Sabu Police chief, he was tricked into releasing the immigrants without police escort and allowing them to continue their trip to Kupang. It *then* turned out that the boat was not going to Kupang but headed instead in the direction of Australia," he added.

But the police account was challenged by a local Sabu community leader, Markus Dima, who claimed that the asylum seekers bought their freedom by bribing the police, as reported by AP.

Bambang said the fleeing group had most likely already arrived at Ashmore Island, a low-lying uninhabited Australian territory bordering Indonesia. The group of islands concerned were previously sometimes considered part of the Rote Ndao Regency of East Nusa Tenggara and have been used by traditional Indonesian fishermen.

The group of asylum seekers had entered Indonesian territory illegally because they did not have visas. They had been detained for six weeks at the police station at Sabu.

The escapees were part of a group of 55 immigrants detained on Sabu Island since Jan. 13. The other 14 are being held in Kupang.

Bambang said he had asked police at the Sabu Raijua Port to hold the immigrants until immigration authorities arrived, but they were cheated by an unidentified caller. "We will examine the West Sabu Police chief," he said.

Before fleeing, the illegal boat people had reportedly threatened to commit suicide if forced to move to Kupang. The asylum seekers, mostly men, reportedly attempted suicide by banging their heads on the wall, hitting their heads with hard objects and jumping at passing cars.

Australia is seeking greater cooperation from Indonesian authorities to stem the growing flow of asylum seekers passing through the archipelago with the help of people smugglers and poor fishermen.

Uninhabited Ashmore island is said to be a popular destination for asylum seekers traveling by boat because setting foot there ensures Australian officials will process refugee claims under UN rules, says AP.

Last year, authorities were able to foil attempts to smuggle around 500 illegal immigrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and a number of other countries to Australia, also via the East Nusa Tenggara route.
-The Jakarta Post

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