Australia rejects charges of abuse

Australia rejected on Wednesday claims by a group of asylum seekers that they were beaten and suffered burns while being returned to Indonesia by the Australian navy under a policy that has strained ties between the countries.

The Australian Broadcasting Corp aired video on Tuesday of asylum seekers getting treatment for burns they said were caused by navy personnel forcing them to hold onto hot pipes coming out of their boat's engine while it was being towed back to Indonesian waters.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison lashed out at the media for reporting what he called "unsubstantiated allegations" and said that he would conduct no investigation into the incident as he accepted the word of navy personnel.

"The Australian government is not going to put up with people sledging (verbally abusing) the Australian navy," he said. "I've been given assurances about their conduct and I believe those assurances because I believe in those individuals."

Indonesian police confirmed that a group of asylum seekers had required treatment for severe burns on their hands after they were picked up in Indonesian waters on Jan 6.

"I received a report from police in Kupang that they said they were burned because they were forced to hold on to the boat engine," said Agus Barnas, spokesman for Indonesia's coordinating ministry of legal, political and security affairs.

"They said they were forced by the Australians. We are trying to find out more."

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was asked at a news conference on a visit to Washington whether Australia would be willing to accept an Indonesian invitation to send officials to review the evidence.

"I cannot imagine for a moment that the professional people that we have in our forces would have behaved in that fashion," she said. "But of course if there is any cooperation that we can extend to ensure that these allegations are scotched, then we would be prepared to do it."

Relations hit

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott's conservative government came to power in September partly because of its tough position on asylum seekers. It maintains offshore detention centers in the impoverished nations of Papua New Guinea and Nauru that hold thousands of asylum seekers.

The number of refugees reaching Australia pales in comparison with other countries, but it is a polarizing political issue that also stokes tension with Indonesia.

Relations between the countries have been prickly over Abbott's pledges to break the business of human traffickers operating from Indonesia.

Ties hit a 13-year low late last year after media reports that Australia had tapped the phones of top Indonesians, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife.

Australia apologized to Indonesia last week for naval breaches of its territory as part of Canberra's policy of stopping boats carrying would-be asylum seekers.

Abbott, in the Swiss resort of Davos for the World Economic Forum, said on Tuesday that Australia stood by its policies.

"For us, stopping the boats is a matter of sovereignty and President Yudhoyono, of all people, ought to understand, does understand, just how seriously countries take their sovereignty," Abbott told reporters.

Reuters

(China Daily 01/24/2014 page10)