And the mystery, because it is rarely exposed in the newspapers, but the ones that they've exposed in the newspapers, is that only the bad aspects make news - always the bad aspects. It's like in Indonesia during the revolutionary war of during colonial time, the treat of being sent to Nusa Kambargan, Java's prison island. And with the New Order comes the threat of being sent to Pulau Buru, where the famous Indonesian writer Pramudia Ananta Toer spent ten years of his life. So having a Port Hedland, a sophisticated Gulag Archipelago, is a very, very important part of the Australian-Indonesian relationship. Refugees here play an important role.
Refugees are a king of political football.
Having Indo-Chinese unprocessed for four years in Australia helps to promote Australian trade to Indonesia because in response to Indonesian trade to Indonesia, Indonesia also expects Australia to do something to reduce the level of radicalism of the East Timorese activists and the East Timorese themselves in Australia. They threatened to boycott all Australian trade to Indonesia unless all the East Timorese activists, or what they called the anti-Indonesian activists, are kicked out of Australia. Of course it was just a threat, and a lot of international politics are just symbolic. One people making a treat and the other party also making its own threat. Talking about East Timor politics, refugees have played an important role within Indonesia to mobilise support for the Indonesian annexation of East Timor, as well of to support maintaining Indonesia's occupation of East Timor.