Jakarta: Indonesia threatened on Monday to deport hundreds of Sri Lankan asylum seekers who have been refusing to leave a boat docked at a Javanese port until they are granted refugee status.
Some 247 ethnic Tamil migrants, led by an alleged people smuggler called Kulaendrarajah Sanjeev, have been engaged in the stand-off since they were intercepted on their way to Australia on October 11.
"If Australia doesn`t want to accept them and they don`t want to come off the boat, we will ask the IOM (International Organisation for Migration) to return them to their country," senior Foreign Ministry official Sujatmiko said.
"For sure they`ll be opposed to it because they`re scared of returning to their country. But Indonesia has no choice as we`re not their destination country," he said.
Seven migrants who left the boat earlier will be deported from immigration detention if their asylum applications with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) are rejected, he added.
Only one has already been returned home, Sujatmiko said.
The crowded wooden cargo vessel has been moored at Merak port on the western end of Java island since it was stopped at sea by Indonesian authorities en route to Australia.
Bureau Report
