• Burmese
Monday, June 23, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
26 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Asia

Sri Lankan Asylum Seekers Arrive in Australia After Weeks Held at Sea

Jane Wardell by Jane Wardell
July 28, 2014
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Sri Lankan Asylum Seekers Arrive in Australia After Weeks Held at Sea

A woman reads a newspaper containing an advertisement publicizing the Australian government’s policy on asylum seekers arriving by boat

2.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

SYDNEY — A group of 157 Sri Lankan asylum seekers who were held at sea by Australian authorities for almost a month, sparking a legal challenge against their detention, have arrived at a detention camp on mainland Australia, government officials said on Monday.

Indian consular officials are due to begin interviewing members of the group, whose boat was intercepted by the Australian navy several weeks ago after setting sail from India. The group was taken to the remote Curtin Detention Centre in outback Western Australia on Sunday and Monday.

The interception and detention of the group has thrown a spotlight on Australia’s controversial and secretive policies dealing with asylum seekers, under which the government has pledged to turn back boats carrying potential refugees.

RelatedPosts

Myanmar Junta Scrambles for Chinese Energy Investment as Lights Go Out

Myanmar Junta Scrambles for Chinese Energy Investment as Lights Go Out

June 23, 2025
138
New Law on Civil Servants by Myanmar’s Parallel Gov’t Troubles Observers

New Law on Civil Servants by Myanmar’s Parallel Gov’t Troubles Observers

June 23, 2025
263
Iran Vows Retaliation After US Strikes on Nuclear Sites

Iran Vows Retaliation After US Strikes on Nuclear Sites

June 23, 2025
54

Such policies have faced growing international scrutiny and criticism from rights groups, The New York Times editorial board and the United Nations, as well as legal challenges in Australia’s courts.

The group of Sri Lankan men, women and children are the first asylum seekers traveling by boat to reach mainland Australia in seven months, an apparent setback for the government’s policies.

Conservative Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s government had boasted of its success in deterring asylum seekers from taking the perilous journey, often in unsafe boats after paying people smugglers in Indonesia, issuing updates on how long it has been since the last boat arrival in Australia.

Australia normally uses offshore detention centers in Papua New Guinea and the tiny South Pacific island nation of Nauru to process would-be refugees who arrive on boats.

While the group of Sri Lankans will be processed at the Curtin camp, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has stressed they will not be resettled in Australia and has released little information about them.

India has agreed to take back any of its nationals among the group but a lawyer asked to represent the Tamils said they should first be interviewed by Australian authorities to establish any claims for asylum.

“Now these people are in Australia, the ordinary protections of Australian law must be afforded to these people,” human rights lawyer David Manne told Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC) radio.

“On the information at hand so far, it’s completely unclear what role India could properly play in this process,” Manne said. “It’s a fundamental principal of refugee law that no person should have to deal with the authorities of another country from which they may have fled.”

Morrison contends the group are economic refugees.

“These people have come from a safe country of India. They haven’t come from Sri Lanka,” he told ABC radio.

“If we can’t take people back to India, what is next? New Zealand? India are a vibrant democracy, they are a good partner, they’re working closely with us,” Morrison said.

Manne said a High Court hearing, due to take place next week, to discuss the fate of the refugees was now in question.

“It’s a very unclear situation, we’re looking to see what aspects of the case will proceed,” he said.

The asylum seekers were brought ashore in the Cocos Keeling Islands at the weekend after being held for weeks on an Australian customs boat. They were transferred in smaller groups by plane to Curtin.

The government made the decision to bring them to Australia after the intervention by the High Court. Their plight became known after a separate group of 37 Sinhalese and four Tamils on another boat were quietly intercepted and returned to Sri Lanka by Australian authorities.

About 16,000 asylum seekers came on 220 boats to Australia in the first seven months of last year, but the government says there have been no illegal boat arrivals since December 2013.

Your Thoughts …
Jane Wardell

Jane Wardell

Reuters

Similar Picks:

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang
Burma

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 28, 2023
98.3k

Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army troops are opening roads and pathways through forests for people to flee Kokang’s capital as...

Read moreDetails
Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public
Burma

Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public

by The Irrawaddy
February 7, 2024
89.4k

People’s Defense Force says junta troops told every household in the village to send one member to witness the double...

Read moreDetails
Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State
War Against the Junta

Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

by The Irrawaddy
November 29, 2023
87k

Brotherhood Alliance member says it now has complete control of Kokang’s northernmost section after the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion 125...

Read moreDetails
Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks
Burma

Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks

by The Irrawaddy
December 4, 2023
59k

The junta said deserters would not be punished for minor crimes, highlighting the military’s shortage of troops as resistance offensives...

Read moreDetails
As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue
Burma

As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue

by The Irrawaddy
April 19, 2024
46.9k

The junta’s No. 2 has not been seen in public since April 3, sparking rumors that he was either gravely...

Read moreDetails
Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow
Burma

Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow

by The Irrawaddy
February 12, 2024
44.7k

Ethnic armed grouping says it will continue Operation 1027 offensive until goal of ousting the junta is achieved. 

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
India’s Modi Under Fire for Silence Over Religious Incidents

India’s Modi Under Fire for Silence Over Religious Incidents

‘Global New Light of Myanmar’ to Launch in September

‘Global New Light of Myanmar’ to Launch in September

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Trade and Traffic from Thai Border Region Dwindle as Checkpoints Multiply

Trade and Traffic from Thai Border Region Dwindle as Checkpoints Multiply

4 days ago
1.2k
The Lady Myanmar’s Generals Can’t Defeat

The Lady Myanmar’s Generals Can’t Defeat

4 days ago
785

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta Moves to Seize Sagaing Roads

    Myanmar Junta Moves to Seize Sagaing Roads

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Certifying a Chinese Security Invasion; Boosting Ties With Nuclear North Korea; and More

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Changes Election Law Ahead of Polls

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Residents of Myanmar Ruby Hub Speak Out as TNLA Mining Takes Toll

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • New Law on Civil Servants by Myanmar’s Parallel Gov’t Troubles Observers

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.