Boat not my problem, Rudd says

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd insists Oceanic Viking refugees are Indonesia's problem | World News | News.com.au

* Australia "not responsible" for boatpeople
* Rudd says Indonesia requested the pick up
* Sri Lankans enter 19th day on board

KEVIN Rudd is digging in over the stand-off with 78 Sri Lankan asylum seekers refusing to leave an Australian Customs ship, insisting they are Indonesia's problem.

Indonesia is expected to extend a deadline for the removal of the group from the Oceanic Viking as the showdown intensifies.

Mr Rudd was emphatic that the group would not be taken to Christmas Island - declaring they were picked up in Indonesian waters following a request from Jakarta, the Herald Sun reports.

But their refusal to disembark continued to prompt Indon officials to argue the ball was in Australia's court.

As the Sri Lankans enter their 19th day aboard the Oceanic Viking, the cost to taxpayers of keeping the vessel away from its normal duties patrolling the Southern Ocean is now estimated at close to $1.5 million.
Related Coverage

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* Unions attack PM on asylumThe Australian, 2 Nov 2009
* Asylum-seekers Indonesian linksThe Australian, 1 Nov 2009
* Island asylum centre set to doubleNEWS.com.au, 31 Oct 2009


Indonesian authorities had nominated yesterday as the deadline by which Australia must ensure the Sri Lankans disembark or leave waters off the Indonesian island of Bintan.

It was understood that Australian officials had sought more time to continue negotiations with Indonesian counterparts and the 78 asylum seekers.

The request was expected to be granted as both nations sought to prevent the stand-off escalating into a full-blown diplomatic row.

Indonesian authorities are refusing to use force to get the group to leave the ship and enter an Australian-funded detention centre in Tanjung Pinang.

That was the destination originally scheduled for the 78, who remain determined to reach Australia.

Mr Rudd maintained Australia and Indonesia retained "infinite patience" in finding a breakthrough.

Although he declined to specifically rule out taking the asylum seekers to Christmas Island for processing, the PM left little doubt about his view of Indonesia's obligations under international maritime law.

"These individuals are being processed in the Indonesian port," Mr Rudd said.

"That is at the request of the Indonesians and that is how it's going to continue."

One senior Indonesian official said there was no hope of breaking the deadlock and the vessel should return to Australia.

But other senior officials have indicated an extension will be granted, meaning the stand-off is likely to drag into a third week.

In a written message thrown overboard yesterday, the asylum seekers said customs officials were trying to "push" them back to Indonesia.

"They are giving little bit of food every day and they are not allowed to shower," the message said.

"They are using bad word against us. These giving more painful to our heart."

The Tamils made it clear they do not intend to come ashore in Indonesia.

"We want to resettle to Australia, they told us we must go to Indonesia, but we are not ready to go back to Indonesia.

"This is our final decision.

"If Australian try to force back to Indonesia, we are going close our life in the ocean."

Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull said the Government's border protection policies had failed.

"That important vessel that should be at sea doing its job, protecting our borders.

"It's just really, you know, a floating hostel off the coast of Indonesia while Kevin Rudd goes around in circles, unable to get a resolution."

Ten Sri Lankan men already in the Tanjun Pinang detention centre yesterday said the long wait to be processed was driving them crazy.

They have been at the centre since it opened in April.

The detention centre is basic and sparse. Blackouts are frequent. The recreation area is little more than a concrete slab, ringed with razor wire.

Inmates don't have access to phones or the internet and cannot contact their families.

"From here we were expecting a good life and a good future. But now we are already getting old," one said.

It can take up to a decade for refugees in Indonesia to be processed and resettled in a third country.

A tanker carrying 27 survivors of the weekend boat tragedy in the Indian Ocean was on its way to Christmas Island last night - as were 16 asylum seekers intercepted on Wednesday north of Darwin.