By BERNARD LAGAN

Wednesday, July 8, 1998

Leaked Federal Government cables give a bleak outlook for ethnic Chinese in Indonesia - warning that disturbances will continue and that they may again be targeted in riots - despite the Australian Government's public assurances that tensions are easing.

The Government withdrew special protection for Indonesians fleeing to Australia two weeks ago when the Immigration Minister, Mr Ruddock, said that "security conditions in the country are returning to normal".

But on June 22 - four days before Mr Ruddock made his announcement - a cable from Australian officials in Jakarta to Canberra warned that the causes of Indonesia's civil disturbances had not been resolved and that the economy remained depressed.

The cable added: "We would expect that sporadic disturbances will continue in a number of areas, including possibly the major cities. Such disturbances may take on an anti-Chinese character."

The cable said it was probably now widely perceived in Indonesia that large mobs could commit crimes with relative impunity.

"We can expect this perception to be exploited by those with criminal intentions and for it to contribute to the feelings of insecurity for those who are likely targets," the cable said.

At the height of Indonesia's riots in mid-May, Mr Ruddock said Indonesian nationals - many of them ethnic Chinese - who had come to Australia on temporary permits would be able to apply for extensions to their stay if they believed they would be at risk if they returned.

He said the move was a short-term measure only "while the current disturbances make it unsafe for people to return to their homes".

Mr Ruddock revoked the arrangement on June 26, saying it was safe for Indonesian nationals to return home.

He said the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs had advised that tensions had eased and Indonesia was returning to normal.

But the cable sent to Canberra four days earlier had said that while Australian officials were unaware of any harassment of ethnic Chinese "in Jakarta" since the May riots, ethnic Chinese in Indonesia were still at risk.

It said Chinese-Indonesian owned shops in Java had been damaged since the May riots and Chinese Indonesians "continued to be an easy target for frustration. The cable said that "overall, the ethnic Chinese-Indonesian community remains fearful and concerned for its future safety".

Mr Adrian Joel, a Sydney immigration lawyer, who passed the cables to the Herald, said yesterday that they appeared to validate the concerns of Indonesians who were attempting to remain in Australia because they feared returning home. He said he was attempting to find the Federal Government's "sources" for its announcement that security conditions were returning to normal in Indonesia.

A spokesman for Mr Ruddock said last night that the Government believed its confidence that normality was returning to Indonesia was justified because, since the height of the May riots, more than 6,000 Indonesians had decided to return home from Australia.

As well, there was no evidence of an increase in the number of Indonesians fleeing by boat for Australia.

The spokesman said the Government had always made clear that the special protection offered to Indonesians in Australia in May was temporary.