6 Apr 2006

More anger from Indonesia over Australia's granting of protection visas to Papuans

8:30 pm on 6 April 2006

Indonesian importers have called for a boycott of Australian goods as anger grows over Canberra's decision to grant temporary visas to 42 Papuan asylum seekers.

The Indonesian Association of National Importers planned to begin the boycott immediately and would continue until the Papuan's visas were withdrawn.

The Association says the boycott would hurt Australia more than Indonesia, because Australia exports in excess of three billion US dollars of goods annually.

Meanwhile...

Parliamentarians, union leaders and Sydney and Melbourne university academics have been included on an Indonesian government list of prominent Australians supporting Papuan separatism.

The list also contains the names of a swathe of activist groups.

It was prepared by a group of senior Indonesian MPs with input from the country's intelligence agency.

Australian Greens senators Bob Brown and Kerry Nettle, Democrats senators Andrew Bartlett and Natasha Stott Despoja, and former ALP national president Greg Sword head the list.

Senator Nettle says she is proud to be included on such a list.

It also includes the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Sydney University, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, also the federal parliament's group on West Papua and the Australian Council for Overseas Aid.

Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono yesterday warned against foreign "meddling" in Papua as the row between Canberra and Jakarta continued over visas for 42 Papuan separatists who landed on Cape York in January.