Refugee Debate in Asia-Pacific
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...By Seyi Oduyela
Published: October 29, 2009
Refugee Debate in Asia-Pacific
A group of 78 ethnic Tamil asylum seekers from northern Sri Lanka caught in a stand-off between Australia and Indonesia has sparked a debate regarding refugees in the region. Australia’s Foreign Minister Stephen Smith has said his country won’t receive the group and argued they cannot choose where to seek asylum. Indonesia agreed last week to take the group, but local officials on Bintan Island, near Singapore, refused to allow them to disembark. The Tamils are still aboard the Australian ship that rescued them in international waters two weeks ago. Refugee activists have highlighted the poor quality of detention facilities in Indonesia and the country’s failure to sign the 1951 UN refugee convention.
