REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MELBOURNE -- Indonesia bears the brunt of Australia issues policy not to receive every refugee registered with United Nations agency.
"They (Australians) have the right to foster the policy, but it is Indonesia that will bear the brunt," Indonesia's Minister of Law and Human Right Yasonna Laoly said on Sunday, November 23, as cited from Australia Plus.
He said that Indonesia could only take up to 2,000 refugees. Indonesia will be burdened if Australia refuse to accept asylum seekers. Currently, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Indonesia wrote at least 10,500 people applied for resettlement.
Indonesia is not a country that signs UN convention on refugees. Thus, UNHCR must find a place for them in the countries which sign the convention, such as Australia.
Indonesia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is still monitoring the impact of recent Australian policy. It said that the ministry considered to take actions to protect Indonesian interest.
Australia's Minister of Immigration Scott Morrison earlier announced that Australia would not longer accept asylum seekers who applied for resettlement after 1 July this year through UNHCR office in Indonesia. The decision, Morrison said, would deter people from using Indonesia as a gateway for asylum and crush people smuggler's business.
"It is important that these places are not taken up by people seeking to exploit the humanitarian program by shopping for resettlement through a transit country," he said. It will encourage them to stay in the first port of asylum and lodge application from there.
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