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| Down Under | |
| Australia is not responsible for mother in Papua visa case | |
| 2006-04-18 | |
| The Federal Opposition says Australia is not responsible for a Papuan woman who has fled the Indonesian province for Papua New Guinea. A child, Anike, and her father were among 42 people from the Indonesian province of Papua who were granted temporary protection visas after arriving in Australia earlier this year. The girl's mother, Siti Pandera Wanggai, remained in Papua and had appealed to Indonesia to help have her daughter returned. But Ms Wanggai's lawyer says the Indonesian military coerced his client into making a false appeal. Since then, the mother has allegedly gone into hiding, fearing persecution.
Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer says the Immigration Department is looking into the case. "The Indonesians have of course raised their concerns about this, and it's something the Immigration Department will have to look [into to] - very sensitive issues, custody disputes, of course as we all know," he said. Indonesian foreign affairs spokesman Desra Percaya has denied that the military pressured the mother. "I don't believe that this is the case, because I had the opportunity to speak with Mrs Siti a couple of days ago," Mr Percaya told AFP. "She asked Deplu (foreign affairs) especially for help for the return of her daughter." | |
| Posted by:Oztralian |