This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/23/india-seeks-access-tamil-asylum-seekers

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
India seeks access to 157 Tamil asylum seekers being held at sea by Australia India seeks access to 157 Tamil asylum seekers being held at sea by Australia
(about 3 hours later)
India has sought consular access to the 157 Tamil asylum seekers on board an Australian border protection vessel, following a visit to New Delhi by the Australian immigration minister, Scott Morrison, in the clearest signal yet that Australia is attempting to hand back the asylum seekers to the Indian government. India has sought consular access to the 157 Tamils on board an Australian border protection vessel, following a visit to New Delhi by Australia’s immigration minister where he formally requested that India take back the group of asylum seekers.
Morrison met with the Indian external affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj, and the home affairs minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday and discussed “all issues of illegal migration”, according to the Indian high commission in Canberra. A senior Indian government official told the Guardian they were seeking to determine whether any of those on board held Indian citizenship.
The 157 Tamils were discussed directly, with Indian officials advising they “do not support illegal migration” but emphasising that the full facts of the case needed to be established. A diplomat from the Indian high commission in Australia was due to be dispatched to speak to the asylum seekers face-to-face.
“Everything is on the table, but the issue must be understood first,” Tarun Kumar, the information officer of the Indian high commission in Australia told Guardian Australia. “If they are Indian it is not an issue. It is their country and they will come back, but we will have to see. At the moment their nationality is unclear,” the source said. “We need to treat them in a humanitarian manner, especially as there are children among them. We are beginning the process.”
India has expressed particular concern for the children on board the boat – understood to be 37 in number – and urged the matter be “handled with legal and humanitarian requirements in mind”. Scott Morrison met the Indian external affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj, and the home affairs minister, Rajnath Singh, at parliament house in Delhi on Tuesday. They discussed “all issues of illegal migration”, according to the Indian high commission in Canberra.
According to UNHCR statistics, India housed almost 190,000 refugees in 2013, over five times the number in Australia. There are estimated to be over 100,000 displaced Sri Lankan Tamils in the state of Tamil Nadu alone, where the boat carrying the 157 asylum seekers departed from.
It is unclear if India will accept any proposal to return the asylum seekers.
The Times of India reported government sources saying they had only been recently approached over the 157 Tamils. Guardian Australia understands from a number of sources that the Australian government had originally intended to send those on board to Sri Lanka.The Times of India reported government sources saying they had only been recently approached over the 157 Tamils. Guardian Australia understands from a number of sources that the Australian government had originally intended to send those on board to Sri Lanka.
An ongoing high court case into the fate of those on board is due for another directions hearing on Wednesday. A high court hearing in Melbourne into the legality of the asylum seekers ongoing detention ruled on Wednesday that a full bench hearing should begin on 5 August. It is expected to last for two days.
On Tuesday, the Australian government filed its defence in the case, arguing that Australia’s international protection obligations do not apply to asylum seekers who fail to reach Australian territorial seas. Justice Kenneth Hayne again requested that the matter be dealt with quickly. Throughout the case he has expressed concern at the length of detention of the Tamils.
The boat carrying the asylum seekers was intercepted by an Australian customs vessel on 29 June in Australia’s contiguous zone. Guardian Australia understands this was 16 nautical miles from Christmas Island. The boat carrying the asylum seekers was intercepted by an Australian customs vessel on 29 June in Australia’s contiguous zone. Guardian Australia understands this was 16 nautical miles from Christmas Island, which lies in the Indian Ocean off the north-west coast of Australia.
The boat departed Pondicherry in Tamil Nadu around 11 June, meaning those on board have been at sea for a month and a half, spending more than three weeks in Australian custody. The boat departed Pondicherry in Tamil Nadu around 11 June, which means those on board have been at sea for a month and a half, spending more than three weeks in Australian custody.
Guardian Australia understands the asylum seekers are being held on the Australian customs vessel Ocean Protector. According to UNHCR statistics, India housed almost 190,000 refugees in 2013, five times more than Australia. There are estimated to be more than 100,000 displaced Sri Lankan Tamils in Tamil Nadu. They mostly live in around 100 government-run camps.
The Guardian understands the asylum seekers are being held on the Australian customs vessel Ocean Protector.
They are being held in locked rooms in three groups – resulting in families being split up. They have no qualified interpreters, although three speak English, and they are allowed around three hours of sunlight, according to the government’s defence in the high court case.They are being held in locked rooms in three groups – resulting in families being split up. They have no qualified interpreters, although three speak English, and they are allowed around three hours of sunlight, according to the government’s defence in the high court case.
Guardian Australia has published the only public photographs of conditions for detained asylum seekers on board the Ocean Protector. They reveal cramped and windowless rooms with metal bunks that stack four high. The Guardian has published the only public photographs of conditions for detained asylum seekers on board the Ocean Protector. They reveal cramped and windowless rooms with metal bunks that stack four high.
At the high court hearing on Tuesday, Justice Kenneth Hayne expressed concern for the ongoing detention of those on board and requested both parties act with speed to get the matter before a full bench hearing. The Australian government has been heavily criticised by the UN for its hardline, military-led border regime.
It is likely this full bench hearing will begin in early August. The UNHCR said it was "deeply concerned" when Australia handed over 41 Sri Lankan asylum seekers straight to the Sri Lankan navy in an on-water transfer after their claims for protection were heard in a speeded up process by satellite phone earlier in the month. The Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, came to office on a promise of "stopping the boats" and has pursued an aggressive campaign of deterrence. The decision not to let the boat carrying the 157 Tamils, including 37 children, arrive in Australia was made by the government's national security committee, which is tasked with "major interest of international security". Abbott's critics argue he has refused to allow the asylum seekers to land for domestic political gain. The government is celebrating over six months "without a successful people smuggling venture".