Indonesia to send Sri Lankans home
JAKARTA: Indonesia said Friday that dozens of asylum seekers from Sri
Lanka would be sent home and not allowed to stay if Australia decides to
send the group back its way.
Australia picked up 85 boat people last month after they passed
through Indonesia and are holding them on Christmas Island in the Indian
Ocean. Australia has a strict policy of detention for asylum seekers.
Canberra suggested sending them back to Indonesia, but the Indonesian
foreign ministry said Friday it would in turn only send them back to
war-torn Sri Lanka. Two of the 85 are of other nationalities.
“We are ready to receive 83 Sri Lankan asylum seekers back to
Indonesia with an understanding that this is only for a transit before
we send them back to their country of origin,” ministry spokesman
Kristiarto Legowo said.
Australia has said it will not breach international obligations or
send the asylum seekers home if they would face persecution.
Indonesia: Friday, AFP |