Press Trust India – 100 SL Tamil refugees denied asylum by Indonesia
Nearly 100 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees were denied asylum by Indonesia as it was not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention relating to the status of refugees, a senior Indonesian official said.
The Sri Lankan Tamils were aboard a ship at the Indonesian port of Merk last month, K J Kumar, Honorary Consul, Consulate of Indonesia at Chennai, who was here to deliver a lecture on ‘Indo-Indonesia relations’, told reporters here yesterday.
He said even under the UN convention, nations were entitled to their own procedures to ensure legitimacy of persons seeking refugee status.
“The nation has to be perfectly satisfied that asylum seekers are not serving as ruse for militants to infiltrate into this land disturbing peace and harmony,” he said.
Kumar said the Indonesian Government had offered to talk with the refugees, but the crewmen were not ready to send their representatives.
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