Craig Hill Media and Consulting
Indonesia
On this day (Australia): In 2005, the Bali bombings took place, killing 23 people and injuring 129. Four of the dead and 19 of the injured were Australian.
On 1 October 200, the Bali bombings took place, killing 23 people (including the three suicide bombers) and injuring 129. Four of the dead and 19 of the injured were Australian. The 2005 Bali bombings were a series of terrorist suicide bomb and a series of car bombs and attacks that occurred on 1 October 2005, in Bali, Indonesia. Bombs exploded at … Continue reading
On this day (Australia): In 1999, Australian troops arrived in East Timor as a part of peackeeping operations
On 20 September 1999, Australian troops commanded by Peter Cosgrove arrived in East Timor as a part of INTERFET peackeeping operations. The International Force East Timor (INTERFET) was a multinational non-United Nations peacemaking task force, organised and led by Australia in accordance with United Nations resolutions to address the humanitarian and security crisis that took place in East Timor from 1999–2000 until the … Continue reading
December 26, 2004 – Tsunami devastates Indian Ocean coast
A powerful earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, on December 26, 2004 sets off a tsunami that wreaks death and devastation across the Indian Ocean coastline. The quake was the second strongest ever recorded and the estimated 230,000 dead made this disaster one of the 10 worst of all time. It was 7:58 a.m. … Continue reading
Dharma Initiative denies responsibility for missing Malaysian flight
The secretive scientific research organisation known as “The Dharma Initiative” has denied responsibility for the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. In a statement released today on the group’s website, Dharma‘s CEO Hugh McIntyre said that despite the similarities between this case and that of the infamous Oceanic Flight 815, the two incidents do not share … Continue reading
Australian helicopters used in ’70s massacres in West Papua
Research into one of the most violent episodes in the history of West Papua claims that helicopters provided to Indonesia by the Australian government were used in military operations in the 1970s that amounted to genocide. According to a report by the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission, two Iroquois helicopters supplied by Australia were … Continue reading
Hong Kong signs up for Australian undergraduate study and internship plan
Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has signed up the fourth and final destination, Hong Kong, for next year’s trial of the government’s New Colombo Plan, which will send Australian undergraduates into the region for study, internships and long-term diplomacy. “Australian students will benefit from the opportunity to study at Hong Kong’s world-class institutions and the … Continue reading
Australian government’s information control policy fails dismally, reflects badly
Despite his habit of making bewildering proclamations (”Some of the worst mistakes of my life have been haircuts”), Jim Morrison is responsible for a piece of wisdom that has resonated through the ages: ”Whoever controls the media, controls the mind”. Control or limit the information available to people, and you frame the debate to your … Continue reading
Asylum seekers drown on way to Australia
About 20 people, mostly children under 15 years old, died when an asylum seeker vessel sank off the southern coast of Java on its way to Australia. Adjunct Commissioner Warsono from the Agrabinta Police has confirmed that 25 people were rescued before the search was called off at nightfall. He could not say how many … Continue reading
Indonesia warns Australia against turning back asylum-seeker boats
Indonesia has raised the ante in its dispute with the Abbott government over turning back asylum-seeker boats, saying its plan puts at risk Jakarta‘s “close cooperation and trust”. The warning came as Tony Abbot sought to reassure the Jakarta “we absolutely respect Indonesia’s sovereignty and we would never do or propose anything which is contrary … Continue reading
Indonesia wants more of Australia’s land; 1.5 million hectares not enough
The Indonesian government may be in the market for an even larger slice of Australian land than the 1.5 million hectares it has proposed. Comments from the Finance Minister Chatib Basri and Deputy Trade Minister Bayu Krisnamurthi indicate large parcels of Australian land may play a crucial role in the security of Indonesia’s beef supply. … Continue reading
Indonesia becomes fifth country in WTO fight over Australia’s tobacco law
The Australian Government has re-affirmed its commitment to tobacco plain packaging laws, in the face of a new challenge to the policy by Indonesia. The World Trade Organisation says Indonesia has made a formal request for consultations with Australia on the issue, which under the Geneva-based organisation’s rules is the first step towards a full-blown … Continue reading
Indonesian asylum-seekers give up hope on Australia
As the realisation takes hold that they are shut out of Australia, growing numbers of asylum-seekers trapped in Indonesia are considering voluntarily returning to their homelands. Asylum-seekers in Cisarua, south of Jakarta, told The Australian that Tony Abbott’s election victory was the final blow to lingering hopes of getting to Australia by boat and being allowed … Continue reading
Indonesia rejects Australian people-smuggler plan
Jakarta has signalled its reluctance to embrace a key plank of Tony Abbott‘s asylum-seeker policy, with the Indonesian Foreign Minister criticising the plan to pay villagers for information about people-smugglers, saying it risked undermining his nation’s sovereignty. In a day of tension between Australia and its nearest neighbour, a policy row also erupted over foreign … Continue reading
Indonesia invites Australia for controversial “turn back the boats” asylum-seeker talks
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has opened the way for Australia’s Tony Abbott to make his first foreign visit as prime minister to Indonesia, with bilateral talks on the controversial policy of turning around asylum-seeker boats possible within a fortnight. The development came as another key plank of Mr Abbott’s asylum-seeker policy began to take … Continue reading
Indonesia says Australian opposition party unfriendly, insulting
Australian opposition party leader Tony Abbott‘s plan to buy boats from Indonesian fishermen to prevent the vessels being used by people smugglers has been slammed by Jakarta as unfriendly and an insult to Indonesia. The buyback plan has met with heavy resistance in Jakarta, with a senior member of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono‘s ruling Coalition … Continue reading
Iran, Pakistan, Thailand snub human trafficking conference in Jakarta; Australia well represented
Iran, the largest source of boat people landing in Australia this year, has boycotted today’s special regional conference on asylum-seekers and human trafficking. The Iranians’ failure to appear casts further doubt on the capacity of the ministerial conference to agree on coordinated “concrete measures” for curbing asylum-seeker flows across the region. Pakistan, another major source … Continue reading
People smugglers take to the sky with Australian asylum seekers
People smugglers are concocting a new and expensive product to sell their asylum seeker clients – flying them into Australia on fake tourist visas to sidestep the harsh policies of both political parties aimed at boat arrivals. Three separate groups of Iranian asylum seekers in the Indonesian province of West Java have told Fairfax Media … Continue reading
Australia ignores teenaged refugees in Indonesia until adulthood
Teenage refugees joining the so-called queue in Indonesia to apply officially for protection visas, instead of jumping on a boat, say they are being told Australia will not take them until they are 18 years old. The boys, who are stuck in limbo in Jakarta, said that even though they have been determined to be … Continue reading
Australia puts bounty on heads of people smugglers
The Australian government will award bounty payments of up to $200,000 for those individuals who can provide information that will help the AFP crack down on people smugglers. The announcement by Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare follows a breakthrough deal under which asylum seekers who come to Australia by boat will be resettled in Papua … Continue reading
Australian politicians to have final say on towing asylum boats back to Indonesia
Political leaders in Canberra could have the final say on individual tow-backs of people-smuggling boats to Indonesian waters under the Coalition’s refugee strategy, Scott Morrison says. Interviewed on Sky News‘s Australian Agenda this morning, the Opposition’s immigration spokesman also confirmed the Australian Navy would be expected to siphon petrol from smuggler’s vessels before abandoning them … Continue reading
Indonesia frees Australia’s most wanted people smuggler; allowed to return to Afghanistan
Australia’s most wanted people smuggler has been set free by an Indonesian court and granted his wish to return home to Afghanistan. The South Jakarta court ruled on Thursday that Sayed Abbas, 30, who was accused of being a smuggling kingpin, could not be extradited as requested by the Australian government. Chief Judge Pranoto said … Continue reading
Australia seen as patronising and arrogant by Indonesians
Many Indonesians find it hard to control their temper each time they read or hear any kind of provocative remark from the Australian media, military, politicians or celebrities. The country is perceived as an arrogant neighbour with a strong sense of superiority towards Indonesia and no more important agenda than to destroy its territorial integrity. … Continue reading
Australia’s new asylum policy hits Iranians hardest
Asylum seekers from ethnic and religious majorities in their own countries will have great difficulty establishing a valid claim for refugee status in Australia under new Rudd government policy. This will strike hardest at Iranians, currently the single largest and most troublesome component of the asylum-seeker flow. Most Afghans and Pakistanis would still pass the … Continue reading
Australian government fears conflict with Indonesia under opposition asylum policy
Australia’s Opposition Immigration spokesman Scott Morrison has called on Kevin Rudd to refrain from “desperate and reckless” attempts to draw Indonesia into the domestic political argument over asylum seekers when he visits later this week. Mr Rudd, who is this week due to meet Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, on Friday warned of “some sort … Continue reading
Australian plan to pay Indonesia to stop asylum seekers
The federal opposition has offered bipartisan support for a boost to funding to Indonesia to deal with asylum-seekers, ahead of an election-eve visit by Julia Gillard for talks with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Immigration Minister Brendan O’Connor today insisted the July 4-5 visit was a “scheduled”, and warned against “overnight miracles” that would solve the … Continue reading
Craig Hill Media and Consulting 