New Zealand may end up taking refugees from among the 78 Sri
Lankan asylum seekers plucked from a stricken boat.
Three weeks after being rescued the asylum seekers are still
refusing to go ashore and be processed in Indonesia.
They have expressed concerns about being shut up in camps
there for years, but the ABC reported Australia is
negotiating with Indonesian authorities for any asylum claims
to be processed faster and resettlement fast-tracked.
Those found to be refugees could go to New Zealand, Canada,
or Australia, with Tamils already deemed refugees to be
resettled first, the ABC reported.
The boatpeople are aboard the Australian customs vessel
Oceanic Viking and are refusing to disembark at an
Indonesian detention centre near Tamborah Laut. Indonesia has
said the boat can only stay in its waters until Friday.
Green Party MP Keith Locke today called on Immigration
Minister Jonathan Coleman to break the deadlock by taking
some of the refugees.
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