"PTBI might well be a cute role-play by an Australian with an anti-Indonesian axe to grind and a peculiar sense of humour."

LOL, is this another of your paranoid mumbo-jumbo? Don't worry, tony kevin, I am not Borat, I am as Indonesian as "Emperor Nasi Goreng".

"Anyway, PTBI, who was worse? - Those who instigated the Middle Eastern people smuggling trade through Indonesia or those who tried to disrupt it"

LOL, the only people to blame for the refugee problem is the warring factions in the messed-up part of the world called Middle East. Their actions turned that place into such a hell-hole that millions of its inhabitants desperately seek refuge anywhere else in the world, particularly Europe and USA. Australia is not even a big destination for these peoples.

Your constant illogical attempt to scapegoat Indonesia for the appearance of refugees produced by Middle Eastern conflicts beyond anyone's control just shows that OLO does not keep any quality standards, since they allow unqualified writers to post the most non-sensical articles with no factual contents whatsoever.

PTBI , I still think you may be an Australian pretending to be a extreme nationalist Indonesian – you are so close to parody at times. Maybe your aim is to make gullible Australians deride such attitudes. The only way to prove me wrong is to out yourself with a verifiable identity. I do not fear to fight my battles under my own name.

You say my article was not based on facts. These are facts:

1. Middle Eastern people smuggling numbers (DIMA fact-sheets) exploded from 39 in 1998 to over 4000 in 2000, over 4000 in 2001, and then collapsed again to virtually nothing in 2002. People-moving industries through a sovereign country do not appear and disappear in this abrupt way without powerful help. You have cited the standard Australian government line that the trade was purely demand –driven from the Middle East. This fails the laugh test. This trade, in order to exist, had to be sheltered and fostered by powerful people with connections to government and TNI resources in Indonesia. The same people helped closed it down at the end of 2001.

2. Yudhoyono and Wirayuda were clearly threatening on reputable media in March 2006 that if Australia did not toe the line on the PNG boat people issue, we could expect a revival of people smuggling through Indonesia. What clearer hint can there be of the connections I am suggesting?

3. Abu Quassey – front organiser of the doomed SIEV X voyage – was clearly (many media references, both in my book and since) protected by powerful Indonesian police and military figures and agencies before, during and after that tragedy.

4. The paltry profits from people smuggling – 4000 people per year at a (media-reports generated – analysed in my book) average of US$1000 per person is only $4 million p a. You don’t bribe a whole country’s police force and navy to look the other way with that kind of small change – there has to be a policy decision by powerful people somewhere in there, to make or let this trade happen. (continues)

(Part 2 of 2 parts).
There are many other supportive facts suggesting Indonesian high-level complicity in “people smuggling” through Indonesia in 1999-2001, and Australian government determination to oppose this covertly, by calling it a “people smuggling” criminality issue rather than an Australia - Indonesia relations issue. Our media fell for our government’s spin hook line and sinker, and the strategy worked. By forcing Jakarta to define the trade as “the organized crime of people smuggling”, pressure was built on the Jakarta government to do something. Then, the shock of SIEV X (however the sinking was caused), was the circuit-breaker that ended “people smuggling” from Indonesia to Australia.

PTBI, - or should I say Borat II? - tell us who you really are. Then we can debate this on OLO

@tony kevin:

LOL, don't you know what happened in Indonesia at the year 1998? It was the year when Suharto fell from power, causing general weakening of govt, including the laxing of immigration controls.

The fall of Suharto allowed thousands of Middle Eastern people to enter Indonesia illegally, some proceeding to Australia. Heck, even Al-Qaeda's number two man Ayman Zawahiri managed to enter and exit Indonesia without passing through immigration.

It was in 2001, with the restoration of govt control of incoming aliens, that the influx of Middle Eastern illegals into Indonesia was cut to zero since almost all undocumented entrants got caught by Indonesian police. And this basically eliminated Middle Eastern boat people problem in Australia cuz the refugees couldn't enter or pass through Indonesia.

PTRBI, your argument here is unconvincing: "general weakening of government, including lax immigration controls, after Soeharto fell in 1998". It is just too pat - how come there were only 39 Middle Eastern origin asylum-seekers in 1998 and 4000 two years later in 2000 and 2001 and back to almost zero again in 2002 ? To blame it all on three weak presidents Habibie, Wahid and Megawati letting immigration controls go slack to this extent allowing a demand-driven surge just isn't credible. I am convinced there was a policy thrust in there from powerful people in Indonesia who had an axe to grind against Australia and the power to facilitate this traffic. It remains the most credible explanation for what happened.

I notice you have not yet declared who you are. Until you do, I doubt that you are Indonesiun at all.

@ tony kevin:

LOL, yet another paranoid anti-Indonesian accusation based on mumbo-jumbo.

Truth is, Indonesian leaders won't bother "smuggling people" to Australia. Why would they want to do such a thing? How does the boat people serve as "revenge" for East Timor.

Fact is, the boat people episode is merely a minor byproduct of the fall of Suharto and general weakeneing of Indonesian govt and immigration services in 1998-2001. It's just an unintended sideshow, really.

The end of the boat-people episode is also a minor byproduct of the Indonesian immigration control recovery of 2001-2002 under Megawati. That's also an unintended sideshow.

The dynamics of this issue has nothing to do with Australia, really. Too bad, your book contains nothing but misinformation. I don't think it will sell well.