Refugees will be returned to Galang

JAKARTA (JP): Five Vietnamese refugees, who were stranded in East Timor on their way from Galang to Australia, will soon be sent back to Galang Island in Riau.

The refugees were stranded on the island on July 9 after the boat which was taking them to Australia was washed ashore.

The deputy commander of the East Timor Military Command, Col. Gleny Kairupan, told the Antara news agency in Dili over the weekend that the boat was smashed by a powerful storm and high waves before it drifted ashore.

"Its steering wheel was broken during the calamity," he said.

Kairupan said the refugees, whose ages range between 28 and 40 years, had been questioned by immigration and police officers. The questioning was witnessed by officials of the Indonesian Red Cross and the International Committee of Red Cross Committee (PMI-ICRC).

Their return to Galang will be organized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

According to Kairupan, when the Australia-bound boat got into trouble in the southeast Maluku waters, it was helped by two local fishing boats.

They were later transferred to the naval base in Dili. "They are now sheltered at the office of the PMI-ICRC for a week," an official of the office said. (tis)