Indonesian terms may make refugees stateless

By Audrey Young

political reporter

The 300 East Timorese refugees approved to take temporary sanctuary in New Zealand may not arrive because Indonesia wants them to renounce Indonesian citizenship, leaving them stateless.

The Prime Minister, Jenny Shipley, is spending this morning in Darwin, Australia.

She will visit New Zealand armed forces personnel using Darwin as a staging point, and expects to visit a refugee camp, where she will be briefed on negotiations between Indonesia and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees on conditions for releasing the refugees.

The UNHCR is responsible for the temporary transfer of refugees to countries in the region and requires the co-operation of Indonesia.

There are estimated to be about 100,000 East Timorese refugees in West Timor.

New Zealand has offered to take 300 refugees for at least three months: 100 to be housed in the Mangere Refugee Centre in Auckland and 200 in a former hostel in Hamilton.

"The last thing I want us to do is go in and redevelop hostels to hold them in New Zealand only to find they may ... have conditions imposed on them that might limit their opportunities in the future," Mrs Shipley told the New Zealand Herald. "It may be that New Zealand is better to put its effort into supporting the refugees in some different sort of strategy."

It is understood Indonesia has demanded conditions before letting refugees leave, including the names of all those leaving, a signed statement saying they left voluntarily and a renunciation of Indonesian citizenship.

The UNHCR is believed to be trying to persuade Indonesia to drop the conditions for the sake of the host countries and the refugees.

Although East Timor voted for independence, its citizens may still want to keep their Indonesian citizenship to travel freely to West Timor.

Renouncing citizenship could also legally affect claims of redress for damage by Indonesia in East Timor.

And host Governments, including New Zealand, are likely to be less enthusiastic about taking 300 stateless refugees.

"If the goal overall is to see that people are re-established," said Mrs Shipley, "it is very important in that trying to assist them, we don't somehow or other damage their future opportunities in terms of their freedom to move within the region.

"There [is] significant complexity that has been emerging in terms of conditions the Indonesian Government has been placing on potential refugee movement.

"New Zealanders want to help that's clear. The Government is willing to help; that's clear.

"We've got a lot of money we've already allocated and we're trying to decide where we can best spend it.

"By being briefed directly by the UN High Commission on Refugees we will have a much better opportunity to make an assessment and give advice to the cabinet."

Mrs Shipley said she also wanted to know the state of plans for infrastructural development of East Timor when the capital, Dili, became stabilised, who was undertaking planning and what countries would be involved.