Asylum seekers quietly leave Australian embassy

Asylum seekers quietly leave Australian embassy

JAKARTA (JP): Four East Timorese lodged at the Australian Embassy for the past month quietly left the mission yesterday after failing to gain political asylum.

"They have left at their own request to return to the Indonesian community," embassy spokeswoman Joanne Eyre said yesterday.

She would not reveal where the four young men had gone but said they were taken to a destination of their choice in a vehicle accompanied by embassy officials.

The four were part of a group of nine who scaled the embassy fence on Feb. 7 and demanded political asylum in Australia.

Their request was rejected and were instead offered asylum in Portugal. The nine turned down the offer and commenced a hunger strike to punctuate their demands.

After two days, three of them fell ill and were taken to hospital for treatment, accompanied by two of their friends.

The remaining four stayed behind at the embassy with the apparent hope that the Australian election on March 2 might result in a decision in their favor.

Despite recognizing the integration of East Timor as Indonesia's 27th province, Canberra remains one of Jakarta's strongest critics on alleged human rights abuses there.

Several dozen Timorese have scaled embassy walls here in the past six months and left for Portugal after their initial requests for asylum were rejected by other countries. (mds)