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Refugee Ship Not Welcome: Indonesian Foreign Minister
Indonesia's Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda Tuesday afternoon overthrew his spokesman Sulaiman Abdul Manan's former announcement, saying that Indonesia would not accept more than 400 illegal immigrants stranded on a Norwegian cargo vessel in the Indian Ocean who are waiting for permission of entrance from the Australian government.
"We already have experiences with these refugees who are illegal migrants. Should we accept them? Our law will not allow this," Wirajuda told reporters after returning from an Asian trip with President Megawati Soekarnoputri.
The Norwegian ship is anchored in international waters off Australia's Christmas Island after Canberra refused entry to the vessel. Some of the mainly Afghan refugees have threatened to jump overboard if the boat heads away from the island.
Earlier, Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Sulaiman announced that Jakarta would allow the ship to enter its waters and let the immigrants stay temporarily on humanitarian grounds. He later said no formal decision had been made.
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