Issues: `Boat people to be relocated'

Fri, 11/06/2009 2:45 PM  |  Reader's Forum

The Riau Islands administration will host 78 Sri Lankan boat people at its immigration detention center in Tanjung Pinang. Provincial justice and human rights office head I Gede Widiharta said Monday the South Asians were heading to Tanjung Pinang on an Australian customs ship.

Two Indonesian warships flanked the Australian vessel when it entered Bintan waters.

"The Sri Lankan refugees will be relocated here following a ministerial talk between the two countries. The Justice and Human Rights Ministry has requested us to arrange the relocation," Widiharta said. Australia has denied entry to the Sri Lankans. Widiharta said the choice of the Tanjung Pinang immigration office's detention center was made by the central government.

Your comments:
What's wrong with staying in Indonesia? Just because they haven't signed the fair treatment of refugees act doesn't mean that they treat the asylum seekers badly. If you are truly seeking asylum, surely the first nation to offer freedom would be the best choice. You can't pick and choose which country you want to seek asylum in.

Rockley
Perth

These Sri Lankan Tamil people are Javanese people. If they come from the Savakachari (Javaka+Chari) area, these people came from Java a long time ago.

Sangaran Jothipala
London

Both Australia and Indonesia are playing nasty games here. The asylum seekers are on Australian territory (their boat). Indonesia is not a good place for asylum seekers as they treat them inhumanely (separate families and use nasty detention centers).

Australia says it can use force against them! Some of the asylum seekers are said to have been in Indonesia for five years, so why are the asylum seekers bound for Australia now?

Australia is basically paying Indonesia to clean their "dirty" laundry. At the end of the day, these are human beings who clearly have a claim to asylum given what has happened in their own country, and both Australia and Indonesia are acting like animals toward them; shame on both countries, you truly disgust me.

E. Bay
Britain

E. Bay is playing hypocrite as usual. They are Tamils. They are rebels who lost the war against the Sri Lankan government. They are not genuine asylum seekers, but just looking for a good life.

Donal Draden
Australia

There are reports today many of the 78 have been living in Indonesia "for as long as five years, and had been accepted by the United Nations office in Jakarta as genuine refugees.

"They engaged a people smuggler because of their frustrations that no country would accept them, leaving them to sit in limbo in rented accommodation in Indonesia, unable to work or study."

Why does Indonesia not allow them to become citizens? If they have lived safely here for the last five years, then their desire to go to Australia is purely economic.

Bingun
Jakarta

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