Court rules in favor of refugees

Court rules in favor of refugees

SYDNEY, Australia (AP): A federal court judge ruled on Tuesday
that the government illegally detained hundreds of foreign
refugees who were caught trying to sneak into the country aboard
an Indonesia ferry and said they must be allowed to land on
Australian soil.

The government said it would appeal the ruling.

Federal Court justice Tony North ruled in Melbourne that
Australia illegally detained the 433 asylum seekers and should
now allow them to land on Australian soil. He gave the government
until 5 p.m. (2 p.m. in Jakarta) Friday to comply, barring an
appeal by its attorneys.

A spokeswoman for Attorney-General Daryl Williams said he was
considering the judgment, but there would be an appeal. The
opposition Labor Party said it would support the government.

Melbourne lawyer Eric Vadarlis, acting for the refugees, said
he was happy the court had sided with the law, not politics
surrounding the case. "The Federal Court is saying to the
government: 'You've got to follow the law'," he told Australian
Broadcasting Corp. radio.

The crisis erupted Aug. 27, when Prime Minister John Howard
turned away the 433 refugees rescued from a sinking Indonesian
ferry by the Norwegian cargo ship MV Tampa.

The boat people -- mostly Afghans, but some Sri Lankans and
Pakistanis - languished on the deck of the Tampa near the remote
northern territory of Christmas Island for a week before Howard
negotiated a deal to send them to New Zealand and the tiny
Pacific republic of Nauru, where their asylum applications will
be assessed.

Australia said it would take some of those granted refugee
status.

The asylum seekers were transferred to the Australian navy
ship HMAS Manoora on Sept. 3, and were to have headed to Papua
New Guinea. There, they were to be transferred to planes for
flights to Nauru and New Zealand.

However, late on Tuesday Foreign Minister Alexander Downer
said the Manoora would steam directly to Nauru where another
group of 237 refugees, picked up Friday night, would have their
asylum applications processed while the original 433 awaited a
final court decision on their fate. The original refugees are to
remain on board the ship during the appeal process, the
government has said.

The 237 additional refugees taken by the Australian navy off
another Indonesian boat carrying refugees toward Australia.
Tuesday's court ruling did not affect them.

Australia had said it would bear the cost of the refugees for
Nauru, a dot in the ocean 7,240 kilometers east of Christmas
Island that depends on Australia for its livelihood. A 21.7-
square-kilometer island with a population of less than 12,000,
Nauru's only major industry is phosphate mining.

Nauru President Rene Harris was briefed on the court decision
by Downer shortly after it was made.

"Nauru is still continuing with plans (for housing the
refugees) until it is advised otherwise," Harris' spokesman,
Christopher Hawkins, said.

Although international leaders including United Nations
Secretary-General Kofi Annan condemned Australia's policy,
Howard's popularity at home has soared, just months from a
federal election.

Thousands of refugees each year make the perilous voyage to
Australia from Indonesia in ships run by people smuggling rings.
Most come from Afghanistan, Iraq and South Asia.

Three of the four Indonesian nationals accused of attempting
to smuggle the 433 asylum seekers into Australia appeared in a
Perth court Tuesday. The three men -- together with a juvenile
who will appear in the Perth Children's Court Wednesday -- are
facing charges of attempting to bring, organize and facilitate
people who would become unlawful citizens.

They were remanded in custody to reappear in Perth
Magistrate's Court on Oct. 9.

Late on Monday, another Indonesian boat, carrying 130 asylum
seekers ran aground on a reef off the coast of northern
Australia. The boat was carrying five Indonesian crew members,
126 Afghans and four Iranians. There were 19 women and 19
children among the refugees.

A spokesman for Defense Minister Peter Reith said the
Indonesian fishing boat Ratna-Mujia had entered Australian
territorial waters without permission and was slightly damaged by
hitting a reef. He said the navy would make it seaworthy again
and return it international waters.

Downer said if that isn't possible, the navy will likely board
the vessel and its passengers could be sent to Nauru.