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| Asylum seekers arrive on Cocos Islands after weeks on Australian customs vessel | Asylum seekers arrive on Cocos Islands after weeks on Australian customs vessel |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Dozens of asylum seekers, among the 157 Tamils whose boat was intercepted by Australian border protection officials near Christmas Island last month, arrived on the Cocos Islands on Sunday morning and were being held inside the tiny island's airport. | |
| The first party arrived on Australian soil about 7.30am local time (11am AEST) on Sunday in small, fast customs boats. The Ocean Protector, the customs vessel on which the asylum seekers have been held for almost a month, was moored on the horizon, near what appeared to be a navy vessel. | The first party arrived on Australian soil about 7.30am local time (11am AEST) on Sunday in small, fast customs boats. The Ocean Protector, the customs vessel on which the asylum seekers have been held for almost a month, was moored on the horizon, near what appeared to be a navy vessel. |
| About 12 people in bright red life vests, including men and women holding infant children, were the first ashore. | About 12 people in bright red life vests, including men and women holding infant children, were the first ashore. |
| Their belongings – mostly towels, clothing and backpacks – were piled up beside them on the jetty in clear plastic bags, numbered and tagged with the boat ID, Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel 885. | Their belongings – mostly towels, clothing and backpacks – were piled up beside them on the jetty in clear plastic bags, numbered and tagged with the boat ID, Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel 885. |
| These were scenes the Australian government never wanted seen.For weeks the asylum seekers were held at sea, in small windowless rooms, under lock and key for 21 hours a day. They slept on metal bunks stacked four high. Families were split. They had no access to translators and no idea where they were and where they were being taken. | These were scenes the Australian government never wanted seen.For weeks the asylum seekers were held at sea, in small windowless rooms, under lock and key for 21 hours a day. They slept on metal bunks stacked four high. Families were split. They had no access to translators and no idea where they were and where they were being taken. |
| On their arrival on the Cocos Islands, customs officials and police led them to buses lined up along the jetty, which ferried them 4km down the West Island's only road to the airport, where they were held behind locked gates. | On their arrival on the Cocos Islands, customs officials and police led them to buses lined up along the jetty, which ferried them 4km down the West Island's only road to the airport, where they were held behind locked gates. |
| It was a slow operation. The ferries went back and forth between the Ocean Protector and the jetty, dropping off a few asylum seekers at a time. The buses with tinted glass drove up and down the Sydney Highway, ferrying the passengers from the jetty to the airport. It appeared likely to continue throughout Sunday. | It was a slow operation. The ferries went back and forth between the Ocean Protector and the jetty, dropping off a few asylum seekers at a time. The buses with tinted glass drove up and down the Sydney Highway, ferrying the passengers from the jetty to the airport. It appeared likely to continue throughout Sunday. |
| Sources said two flights were scheduled, one a Nauru Air 900 Boeing 737, understood to be headed to the Curtin detention centre south of Derby, Western Australia, but it was believed some of the asylum seekers would remain in the quarantine zone. | Sources said two flights were scheduled, one a Nauru Air 900 Boeing 737, understood to be headed to the Curtin detention centre south of Derby, Western Australia, but it was believed some of the asylum seekers would remain in the quarantine zone. |
| The asylum seekers left Pondicherry in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu around 11 June. The immigration minister, Scott Morrison, conceded on Friday the asylum seekers would be brought to Australia, breaching his own protocol of not commenting on "on-water matters", after Guardian Australia revealed the plan to take them to Curtin via the Cocos Islands. | The asylum seekers left Pondicherry in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu around 11 June. The immigration minister, Scott Morrison, conceded on Friday the asylum seekers would be brought to Australia, breaching his own protocol of not commenting on "on-water matters", after Guardian Australia revealed the plan to take them to Curtin via the Cocos Islands. |
| It is believed the Ocean Protector may first have set course for Sri Lanka with the asylum seekers on board, but hit bad weather and was unable to make it before a high court action was launched, which prevented a direct handover to the Sri Lankan navy. Certainly the government thought of shipping the Tamils straight to Australia's offshore detention centres in Papua New Guinea or Nauru, but subsequently dropped the idea as impractical. Morrison then headed to India, meeting senior officials in Delhi, where he was told the matter must be dealt with humanely.It was the Indians, it appears, who called for the Tamils to be brought ashore.For weeks the Australian public heard details of the asylum seekers' welfare only through the high court case, where it was revealed that the decision not to allow the Tamils to land in Australia was made by the National Security Committee, chaired by the prime minister.The 157, including 37 children, were being treated as a national security threat. | It is believed the Ocean Protector may first have set course for Sri Lanka with the asylum seekers on board, but hit bad weather and was unable to make it before a high court action was launched, which prevented a direct handover to the Sri Lankan navy. Certainly the government thought of shipping the Tamils straight to Australia's offshore detention centres in Papua New Guinea or Nauru, but subsequently dropped the idea as impractical. Morrison then headed to India, meeting senior officials in Delhi, where he was told the matter must be dealt with humanely.It was the Indians, it appears, who called for the Tamils to be brought ashore.For weeks the Australian public heard details of the asylum seekers' welfare only through the high court case, where it was revealed that the decision not to allow the Tamils to land in Australia was made by the National Security Committee, chaired by the prime minister.The 157, including 37 children, were being treated as a national security threat. |
| This weekend Serco staff, federal and local police officers and customs officials swarmed over the Cocos Islands. | This weekend Serco staff, federal and local police officers and customs officials swarmed over the Cocos Islands. |
| Lights could be seen inside the island's quarantine facility until late on Saturday night as officials flown in from Christmas Island and the mainland made preparations for the asylum seekers' arrival. | Lights could be seen inside the island's quarantine facility until late on Saturday night as officials flown in from Christmas Island and the mainland made preparations for the asylum seekers' arrival. |
| Rumah Baru, the West Island's jetty, was cordoned off with customs tape shortly before the first boatload of people landed. | Rumah Baru, the West Island's jetty, was cordoned off with customs tape shortly before the first boatload of people landed. |
| The Tamils were kept well away from locals, some of whom gathered at the airport to watch them being unloaded, and at the jetty to see them land. | The Tamils were kept well away from locals, some of whom gathered at the airport to watch them being unloaded, and at the jetty to see them land. |
| Some of the asylum seekers waved as the bus departed the jetty. One child went to open the window. A beefy police officer beside him stuck an arm across, grabbed the lock and shook his head. | Some of the asylum seekers waved as the bus departed the jetty. One child went to open the window. A beefy police officer beside him stuck an arm across, grabbed the lock and shook his head. |