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