-
Australia - Source: ONE News -
Related
The men among the 78 Sri Lankan asylum seekers on board an
Australian customs vessel are staging a hunger strike.
The Oceanic Viking is making its way to the Indonesian port of
Tanjung Pinang where the asylum seekers will be given temporary
accommodation while their cases are processed.
A spokesman for Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor said the men
were refusing food but were drinking water.
The women and children on board are continuing to eat and are not
involved in the hunger strike.
"A doctor is on board and will continue to regularly check the
passengers' health," the spokesman said.
The Oceanic Viking, which rescued the asylum seekers from their
stricken boat inside Indonesia's search and rescue zone on Sunday,
is taking the group to an Australia-funded detention centre on the
Indonesian island of Bintan.
The latest development came as Greens leader Bob Brown called on
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to set humanitarian ground rules for boat
people.
Senator Brown says if Australia is giving millions of dollars to
Indonesia to house the refugees it must ensure they are given all
human rights.
"The prime minister has to remember the parable about the good
samaritan and that Australia is a fair go society," he told
reporters in Melbourne on Saturday.
"We want to see that people who are seeking refuge from cruelty and
fear are treated with respect to international law but also
Australia's own compassionate regard for asylum seekers."
Mr Rudd flew to Thailand on Saturday, ahead of Sunday's East Asia
Summit, which will bring together leaders from 10 ASEAN nations
plus Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, South Korea and
India.
He has several meetings on the sidelines, including talks with
Indonesian leader Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The pair are likely to discuss a new strategy under which asylum
seekers headed for Australia are processed on Indonesian
soil.
Senator Brown said if the government secures a deal to build more
holding centres in Indonesia it must ensure the refugees are
treated properly.
"Otherwise the appearance that we take from the Rudd government is
that they are putting the problem into offshore detention centres
which Australians would not accept as a means of deterrence,"
Senator Brown said.
"That leads to a lot of unnecessary cruelty to people that don't
deserve it."
The Australian Human Rights Commission has criticised the federal
government over its use of mandatory detention and processing of
asylum seekers on Christmas Island.
On Friday authorities intercepted the 36th boat this year of
asylum seekers heading for Australia.
Greens immigration spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young said at the top
of Mr Rudd's to-do list is to get Indonesia to sign the UN Refugee
Convention.
"Kevin Rudd must seek assurances that children and families will
not be imprisoned and that the refugee claims are processed in a
fair and timely manner," Senator Hanson-Young said.
"We need to set down some ground rules to ensure that whatever
arrangement are made with Indonesia, it's not just about the
logistics of pushing boats back but it's actually about the human
rights and protection of people who are suffering."
The spokesman for Mr O'Connor said no major medical problems had
been identified among the asylum seekers on board the Oceanic
Viking, although several minor ailments were being treated.
"The ACV Oceanic Viking will continue to transport the passengers
to a safe location at Tanjung Pinang Port and the people rescued at
sea will be given temporary accommodation until the relevant
international officials can handle the case," the spokesman said in
a a statement on Saturday.
The developments came after more than 250 ethnic Tamils staged a
two-day hunger strike last week and refused to leave their boat now
docked in Merak in Indonesia.
World News Video
-
Dangerous rush to Everest summit (1:59)
-
Dozens killed in Syrian massacre (2:09)
-
'King of Romance' competes in Eurovision (1:46)
