VZCZCXRO0545
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJS #0052 1420413
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 220413Z MAY 09
FM AMCONSUL SURABAYA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0415
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0193
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 0402
RUEHJS/AMCONSUL SURABAYA 0424
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0062

UNCLAS SURABAYA 000052 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, G/TIP, DRL/ILCSR, INR 
BANGKOK FOR INL REFUGEE OFFICE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF SMIG PREL ELAB KCRM KWMN ID AF
SUBJECT: EAST JAVA: AFGHANS BREAK OUT OF IMMIGRATION DETENTION, 
PRESUMED BOUND FOR AUSTRALIA 
 
REF: A. 2008 SURABAYA 68 
     ¶B. B JAKARTA 182 
 
This message is sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect 
accordingly. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Ten Afghan men are still at large after escaping from 
an East Java immigration detention center in the early hours of 
May 19.  Indonesian immigration officers say the fugitives broke 
through a barred window and escaped leaving behind an ill 
compatriot and seven Iraqis.  Indonesian immigration officers 
assume the escapees had assistance from smugglers and are making 
their way to Australia.  Authorities continue to scour nearby 
tourist areas, which might allow the fugitives to blend in, but 
have no leads.  There has been ample evidence of human smuggling 
via islands farther east in the Indonesian archipelago (reftel 
A), but this is the first arrest of such a group transiting East 
Java overland. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Malang Immigration Officials told ConGen Surabaya that 
the 11 Afghans had no travel documents when they were captured 
in the small East Java city of Probolinggo, roughly 40 miles 
east of Surabaya.  However, three of the Iraqis had valid 
passports and Indonesian visas; four of Iraqis were holding 
travel documents from the UN High Commission on Refugees 
(UNHCR).  Officials were unsure when the Iraqis would be 
released or charged with immigration violations. 
 
¶3. (SBU) After cyclone season, June's calmer seas offer boats a 
window of opportunity for safer passage between West Timor and 
Australia.  Australian National Police advised Congen Surabaya 
that increased surveillance and cooperation between Australian 
and Indonesian police has made successful illegal entry almost 
impossible by this route (reftel A).  While the number of 
attempts is unknown, this routing has already claimed lives. In 
January 2009, local media reported that authorities in Kupang, 
West Timor, had recaptured 13 of 18 illegal immigrants (citizens 
of Afghanistan, Burma and Pakistan) who had earlier escaped from 
immigration detention.  Three were found dead by local fishermen 
-- drowned in an attempt to reach Australia on an 11-meter 
fishing boat.  The island of Sulawesi has also been a transit 
point for illegal immigrants transiting Indonesia and bound for 
Australia. (reftel B). 
 
MCCLELLAND