Banda Aceh – The Indonesian government has said it will not take in 44 Sri Lankan refugees who have been stranded in Aceh waters for the last few days.
"We'll pull their boat into international waters when the weather improves," Deputy Aceh Governor Muzakir Manaf said at the site of the stranded Sri Lankan boat on Wednesday.
The Aceh immigration office has refused to allow the refugees, who say that they are en route to Australia, to dock at the Aceh port. "Whatever their stories are, the Immigration Law stipulates that we cannot accept them due to their unclear status," Aceh Immigration Office head Samadan said.
He added that his office had contacted the Sri Lankan embassy to confirm their status, but had been told that the Indonesian government must verify their identities before the embassy could properly respond.
"What they have is a piece of paper saying that they are Sri Lankan refugees who had fled to India. That's all they've got and it cannot be considered an immigration document," Samadan said.
The refugees earlier asked the Aceh administration to give them 7 tons of fuel so that they could continue their journey. However, the government, via the local immigration office, only gave them 1 ton.
As they failed to get as much fuel as they had asked for, the refugees then decided to drop anchor 500 meters off the beach before their boat was carried into shore by strong waves and washed up on the beach.