Asylum seekers refuse to leave boat in Indonesia

8 Sep 2012, 10:56 am   -   Source: AFP
Share This
0 
+ Comment
1

More than 50 Australia-bound asylum seekers from Sri Lanka have refused to leave their boat after it was found stranded off Indonesia's Sumatra island a week ago, officials said.

RELATED

More than 50 Australia-bound asylum seekers from Sri Lanka have refused to leave their boat after it was found stranded off Indonesia's Sumatra island a week ago, officials said.

Sikakap district police chief Surya Negara said the boat holding 53 people, including three children and four women, was found drifting near small Mentawai island off Sumatra on September 1 after it ran out of fuel.
  
"They refused to get off the boat, saying that they want to continue their journey to Christmas Island (Australia). They want 2,000 litres of fuel to sail back to sea," Negara told AFP.
  
In a letter to a local immigration office, the asylum seekers threatened to go on hunger strike, saying "we will not eat until we die", according to the message seen by an AFP correspondent.
  
Negara said local authorities have been in touch with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), but as the island was so remote, it takes time to reach the location.
  
"Up until now, they refused food or medical treatment. But based on our observation they still have enough food on their boat," he said.
  
Australia is facing a steady influx of asylum-seekers arriving by boat, many of whom run into trouble on rickety vessels in Indonesian waters after fleeing their home countries.
  
Indonesia has long been a transit country for illegal migration to Australia. Hundreds of boatpeople have died en route to the country this year.
  

Sri Lanka , Asylum Seekers

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube

Your Comments

Engeneer

Mr F.J.De Laet - from Blackriver Townsville, 8 months ago

them boatpeole are leaving very remote part of the coast off Indonesia where no many people live so when they leave the coast they have not been informd about any change off condition when they get to the Australia terretory. The Australian Government must send trekkers who can undertake remote travel to them part of the coast of indonesia and inform them people that they will not be let into Australia but kept on a Island of the coast of Austrlia. and that it is very dangerous to go with aboat

Join the Discussion

Name
City / Suburb E.g. Artarmon, Sydney
Title
Comment
You have characters remaining.
Validation
What's this?
This is a captcha-picture. It is used to prevent mass-access by robots.
All submitted comments become the property of SBS. They are moderated, so we reserve the right to edit comments and remove HTML tags. Not all submitted comments will be published. Publication does not mean we endorse the opinions expressed. Please read our terms and conditions for more information.