SBY wants high level meeting with Australia over ties

Indonesian President SBY wants high a level meeting with Australia to discuss the 2 country’s relationship. Recently there has been some ill will / confusion, over the visa granted for the group of Papuans who claimed they would be persecuted if sent back to Papua.

SBY seems like a intelligent and reasonable man, but he is clearly worried about Australia’s attitude towards Indonesian sovereignty. Helping the Papuans might suggest Australia would lend weight to further independence claims by the Papuan separatists. I wonder how the Australian government would feel if a group of people from NT were given refugee status in Indonesia.

Anyway, I hope whoever is doing the talking can lay their cards on the table and tell it straight. My thoughts are, that if Indonesia doesn’t want its citizens claiming to be refugees, it should reign in the police, army and whoever else from intimidating them. On other side, aiding separatists of a country isn’t exactly a re-affirmation of solidarity.