XXXX Slug: Indonesia people smuggling conference Date: 22/8/2013 Reporter: Rebecca Hensch e I!

"R# Indonesia is hailing a regional meeting on people smuggling as a success$ "he meeting in %a arta &as attended b' about 12 countries( including the source countries of man' as'lum see ers &ho ha)e been using people smugglers to tr' to get to *ustralia( such as *fghanistan and Sri +an a$ Rebecca Hensch e reports$ ",-": "ens of thousands of refugees from countries li e *fghanistan and .'anmar languish in countries such as Indonesia and .ala'sia$$$$ &aiting for 'ears for resettlement in countries li e *ustralia$ .an' get so frustrated the' ris their li)es on boat trips across the Indian #cean in the hope of reaching *ustralia$ "on' /ur e is *ustralian immigration minister$ "on' /ur e clip 1 0.ale( ,nglish1: 2"he great horror of &hat &e3)e all seen in the distance( in the shores bet&een Indonesia and the shores of *ustralia( is that people ha)e sometimes as ed the 4uestion: ho& man' people ha)e dro&ned5 "he truth is( nobod' no&s the ans&er to that 4uestion$ !obod' no&s ho& man' people ha)e lost their li)es at sea$2 *ustralia has signed the international refugee con)ention6$ /ut in the face of increasing numbers of people see ing as'lum6it is no& doing e)er'thing it can to eep as'lum see ers out$ 7rime .inister 8e)in Rudd has decided the best &a' for *ustralia to deal &ith the issue is to e9port the problem to its nearest neighbour6$$7apua !e& :uinea ;nder a ne& deal( *s'lum see ers &ho come to *ustralia b' boat &ill be re<settled in 7!:$ Rimbin 7ato as the countries foreign minister e9plains$ Rimbin 7ato clip 1 0.ale( ,nglish1: ="he' &ill be gi)e &or ing rights6$education $ "he message is that in 7!: 'ou are &elcome$>

/ut the 7!: foreign minister 7ato sa's alread' some Iranian as'lum see ers ha)e as ed to be returned home to Iran rather than be &elcomed into life in 7!:$ Rimbin 7ato clip 2 0.ale( ,nglish1: =?ift' of them( on the brief that I got toda'( ha)e agreed to return bac to their countr'$> "he mo)ement of as'lum see ers and refugees is a huge political issue in *ustralia$ *nd it3s a political narrati)e that Indonesia has also been dragged into$ It &as the Indonesia 7resident@s idea to hold a forum( in)ol)ing the countries that &ould<be refugees are coming from( going through( and heading for$ "he meeting concluded after Aust three hours &ith a three<page declaration$ /ut Indonesian ?oreign .inister .art' !atalega&a reAected suggestions that little in the &a' of outcomes &ould come from the meeting$ .art' !atalega&a clip 1 0.ale( ,nglish1: 2I can assure 'ou that it is a far better situation toda' than s to the ind of commitment that the countries that ha)e met toda' ha)e made in identif'ing and follo&ing up areas &here &e can be &or ing together < for e9ample( the idea of table<top e9ercises on search and rescue operations < that I thin is rather concrete$2 Indonesia has also stopped its 2)isa on arri)al2 scheme for people from Iran < a scheme &hich *ustralia had argued benefited people smugglers$ *nd is loo ing to ma e people smuggling an e9traditable offence$ *ustralia in return sa's it &ill loo to increase the number of refugees it ta es each 'ear from the tens of thousands of refugees that are &aiting in for resettlement in Indonesia and .ala'sia$ ?or *sia Balling this is Rebecca Hensch e in %a arta