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STRAITS TIMES - Oct 11, 2010
DILI - AUSTRALIAN Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said on Monday he had several 'models' of how to establish a regional refugee centre in East Timor, as he arrived in Dili for talks with President Jose Ramos-Horta.
Mr Bowen will meet Dr Ramos-Horta and other senior officials on Tuesday in the first round of direct negotiations with the East Timorese government about the proposed centre, an idea first mooted by Prime Minister Julia Gillard in July. Ms Gillard wants to establish a regional hub to process the thousands of asylum seekers - known as 'boatpeople' - heading for Australia through Southeast Asian transit points.
Mr Bowen said he expected a 'good two-way exchange' with the president, who told AFP on Sunday that such a centre could cost US$30 million (S$39 million) to build and another 30 million in annual upkeep, and would only be 'temporary'.
'I'll be discussing with President Ramos-Horta some of the possible models for a regional processing framework, and also consulting with him about the view of the government of Timor-Leste about which of the models would be the most easy to progress,' he told reporters at Dili airport.
'The construction of any such centre would take a considerable amount of resources ... it would be in the vicinity of many millions of dollars, but that's something fully understood and accepted from the Australian point of view.'
He refused to be drawn on whether an East Timor-based facility would be a permanent solution to Australia's difficulties with 'boatpeople", saying only that was one of the 'issues we'll be talking through' with Dr Ramos-Horta. -- AFP
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STRAITS TIMES - Oct 11, 2010
DILI - AUSTRALIAN Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said on Monday he had several 'models' of how to establish a regional refugee centre in East Timor, as he arrived in Dili for talks with President Jose Ramos-Horta.
Mr Bowen will meet Dr Ramos-Horta and other senior officials on Tuesday in the first round of direct negotiations with the East Timorese government about the proposed centre, an idea first mooted by Prime Minister Julia Gillard in July. Ms Gillard wants to establish a regional hub to process the thousands of asylum seekers - known as 'boatpeople' - heading for Australia through Southeast Asian transit points.
Mr Bowen said he expected a 'good two-way exchange' with the president, who told AFP on Sunday that such a centre could cost US$30 million (S$39 million) to build and another 30 million in annual upkeep, and would only be 'temporary'.
'I'll be discussing with President Ramos-Horta some of the possible models for a regional processing framework, and also consulting with him about the view of the government of Timor-Leste about which of the models would be the most easy to progress,' he told reporters at Dili airport.
'The construction of any such centre would take a considerable amount of resources ... it would be in the vicinity of many millions of dollars, but that's something fully understood and accepted from the Australian point of view.'
He refused to be drawn on whether an East Timor-based facility would be a permanent solution to Australia's difficulties with 'boatpeople", saying only that was one of the 'issues we'll be talking through' with Dr Ramos-Horta. -- AFP
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3 comentários:
Why is Mr Bowen only talking to PR and senior officials when the decision-making in TL is not the PR but the PM? In case Mr Bowen have forgotten or never bothered to equip himself with TL’s constitution, the PR has only a symbolic function or also known as a legislative power. The real McCoy lies with the PM. In another words, who decides is the PM. It is not smart idea to ignore the decision-maker and going into bed with the second fiddler.
It was okay to ignore Alkatiri as PM, as he was a person who you took a dislike because it was under Alkatiri’s government that the parliament chose the system. It is unfortunate for Alkatiri’s critic but the same system has been embraced by Xanana, a favourite of your and therefore there is no reason to overlook him. Is it lack of understanding other countries constitution or a sheer display of arrogance? Knowing Canberra for its bullyboy tactics, it is the latter!
Canberra have scored anther own goal either by arrogance or sheer stupidity. Why is the Minister not talking to the PM but with PR insteado? Although what PR say will not much different from what PM would say, the Minister should show some respect to the de facto government and talk to them. Or maybe it is tactic deployed by de facto government to take a sting out of themselves by letting the PR doing all the talk. If so, the de facto government should bear in mind that the decision-making for a centre is not the prerrogative of a PR but of the National Parliament. But let's see, who will have a last laugh!
Maybe they want to create upheavel between the two, PM and PR.
Dividing to conquer!
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