- Title: INDONESIA: Sri Lankan asylum seekers put hope in Australia-Indonesia talks
- Date: 21st October 2009
- Summary: MEN AND CHILDREN
- Embargoed: 5th November 2009 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Indonesia
- Country: Indonesia
- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVAE5A5LJ0LXTA3O3R0F3L8WPG78
- Story Text: A group of Sri Lankan asylum seekers in Indonesia are pinning their hopes on talks between Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, ten days after the group were detained while on their way to Australia.
The Sri Lankans are also urging the leaders to bring the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) officials to register them as refugees, although they admit to having paid money to travel to Australia.
Rudd is in the capital Jakarta on Tuesday (October 20) to attend the inauguration of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for a second term. Both are scheduled to meet in the afternoon but there is no clear information about what they will discuss.
"We do know that they are here in the inauguration and they will be having a meeting and we are not sure what the meeting is about. However we hope they can discuss our situation and talk about our concerns. And hopefully we have the right to see the UNHCR," said Alex, a spokesman for the asylum seekers, on Monday (October 19).
On Monday (October 19), Sri Lankan government representatives visited the Indonesian naval base in Banten province, the closest naval base to the boat, and held a meeting with some Indonesian officials.
The Sri Lankans expressed concern over the government representatives' visit.
"No, we did hear that there were two representatives from the Sri Lankan Navy who are here, and we are very scared and hopefully they do not come any close to us, but the (Indonesia) Navy has promised us that they will not come close to us," said Alex.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Navy has also detained six Indonesians, who were part of the boat's crew, as part of their investigations.
But Irawan, the commander of Banten naval base, said the Indonesian crew members were not being considered suspects.
"The boat crew are not suspects. They are still under investigation. But they are guilty of bringing the ship without proper documents," said Irawan.
An Indonesian warship intercepted what officials described as a "cargo ship" carrying more than 260 Sri Lankans on October 10, near the volcanic island of Krakatoa.
Indonesia is a frequent transit country for asylum seekers aiming to get to Australia from conflict-torn countries. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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