Indonesians seek Australian asylum

Indonesians seek Australian asylum

AUSTRALIA: Seven Indonesians who waded ashore in Australia's
remote northwest a week ago are asylum seekers, immigration
officials said on Monday.

The seven -- four men, a woman and two children -- are from
West Timor and were picked up at Cape Londonderry. They are the
first asylum seekers to arrive since a group of Vietnamese people
landed more than two years ago.

"Applications for protection visas will be considered in
accordance with normal procedures and international obligations,"
an immigration department spokesman said.

The spokesman said they would stay in Darwin while "the most
appropriate place of detention for the group is being
considered".

Under Australia's controversial mandatory detention policy,
asylum seekers who arrive without visas are locked up until their
claims are processed.

The surprise asylum claim follows the weekend discovery of two
Indonesians at a remote Aboriginal community in the Northern
Territory. It is not yet clear if those men were asylum seekers
or fishermen who came ashore when their boat's engine failed.

The men were found on Sunday in their boat near Wadeye, about
250 kilometers southwest of Darwin, the Northern Territory's
capital. Police said they were also from Indonesia's West Timor
province. --DPA