About 200 asylum seekers aboard a boat moored in the Indonesian port of Merak for six months after trying to reach Australia have been given five days to come ashore or face deportation.
The Sri Lankans had previously refused to come ashore until they were offered a special deal similar to the 78 asylum seekers who were picked up last year by an Australian Customs vessel, the Oceanic Viking.
Officials of the Indonesian navy, foreign ministry and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) arrived at the boat unexpectedly on Wednesday.
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Refugee status unclear
Namil, a spokesman for the refugees, said UNHCR staff took photos of every person on the boat and asked for personal details.
One of the group's chief demands is for the commission to confirm their refugee status before they leave the boat.
This is very unlikely to be met.
"We have asked them for five days to wait in the boat," Namil told AAP on Wednesday.
While he was focused on the group's immediate concerns, Namil was keen to emphasise their goal - life in Australia.
"Australian government must help us for resettlement," he said.
Rudd intervened
The boat was headed for Australia late last year when Prime Minister Kevin Rudd intervened.
Learning the boat was on the way, Mr Rudd phoned Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and asked him to stop it in Indonesian waters.
The Indonesian navy apprehended the boat and took it to the Javan port of Merak on October 11.
But the Sri Lankan asylum seekers - then numbering 254, including 31 children - refused to get off the boat, fearing they'd have to wait years for resettlement if their refugee claims were processed in Indonesia.
Mr Rudd intervened after a similar standoff with 78 asylum seekers who were taken aboard the Oceanic Viking earlier in 2009.
Group refuses to disembark
The Australian boat picked up the ethnic Tamils in international waters inside Indonesia's search and rescue zone in October and took them to the Indonesian island of Bintan.
But the group refused to leave the Australian vessel and enter Bintan's detention centre, sparking a four-week standoff.
The Rudd government finally enticed them ashore with the promise of rapid processing and resettlement in a third country.
Indonesia promised the group in the Merak standoff it would not force them off the boat, but its patience appears to have come to an end.
Refugee advocate Ian Rintoul called the actions of the Indonesians inflammatory.
"They are trying to intimidate them," Mr Rintoul said.
'No agreement reached'
Indonesian immigration official Harry Purwanto was keen to claim an agreement had been reached.
"Yes, the negotiation reached (a) deal," Mr Purwanto told AAP from Merak Port.
But his claim was rejected by Mr Rintoul.
"No agreement has been reached," he said.
This was confirmed by Namil.
Immigration Minister Chris Evans and opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison have been contacted for comment.
