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Indonesia seeks island for refugees
AAP
November 26, 2014, 7:55 am
Indonesia is reportedly considering housing asylum seekers and refugees on one island following Australia's decision to accept fewer for re-settlement.
Indonesia's Justice and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly told News Corp all 10,500 people registered with the UNHCR in Jakarta would be moved to the yet undetermined island.
Jakarta has rejected the move in the past but is reportedly reconsidering in direct response to Australia's decision.
"Now we have started thinking again about this policy," he said.
"We only need to find the island."
The federal government last week announced it would lock out asylum seekers who registered in Jakarta after July 1.
In a move described by Immigration Minister Scott Morrison as "taking the sugar off the table", Australia will also accept fewer of the refugees awaiting resettlement in Indonesia, reducing numbers from 600 to 450 each year.
Mr Yasonna raised the policy in a meeting with Australia's ambassador Greg Moriarty.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry's Asia Pacific director-general Yuri Thamrin, who also relayed concerns to the ambassador last week, on Tuesday called for Australia's relationship with Indonesia to take on greater respect and equality.
Issues of sovereignty were "very important", he said, as well as open communication and co-operation.
Dr Thamrin called for the relationship to evolve.
"Don't reduce our relations, bilateral relations, into donor-recipient relations," he said.
"For us, if we had to choose, respect and equality is much, much more important than assistance and needs."
Dr Thamrin spoke at the annual Australia-Indonesia Dialogue is a joint initiative of Queensland's Griffith University and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.
