BANTEN: Indonesian police have arrested 80 Pakistanis and 17 Afghans stranded after their boat hit a reef as they tried to reach Australia’s Christmas Island, an official said on Tuesday.
Australia is struggling to deal with a steady influx of asylum-seekers arriving by boat. Many use Indonesia as a transit hub, boarding leaky wooden vessels that sometimes never make their destination.
Working on a tip-off the police found 97 migrants on a small island off Java’s Banten province on Monday, three days after their boat was badly damaged after hitting the reef in rough seas.
“They had been on the island for three days when we arrived... it is quite remote,” provincial maritime police chief Raden Mas Tohir told AFP.
“They are all in good condition and arrived this morning at an immigration detention centre in Banten,” he said, adding that the group had set off from a port near the Indonesian capital Jakarta.
Hundreds of boatpeople have died en route to Australia this year, while many more are being held in detention centres after being stopped while attempting to make the perilous journey.
Indonesia jailed five soldiers for up to six years last month for their roles in a people-smuggling ring. It included organising a boat which capsized late last year, killing 200 passengers.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 10th, 2012.
COMMENTS (7)
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@Azi:
Sir, What you say is simply not true. There was a time when many Indian immigrants would leave their country to seek better opportunities, but the tables have turned since nearly 12 years. There are many successful and enterprising Indians living abroad, including in the USA where I live, who want to return to India to tap the avenue of opportunities that have opened up after the incredible economic growth posted by India. True, some Indians still continue to go abroad but there are many more who want to come back lured by the sweet smell of success in their country of birth. I am not gloating over Pakistan's malaise -- most Indians do not care about Pakistan but get interested only because it is a neighbour -- but can you, in all honesty, say the same about Pakistan which has virtually no economy; the country has very high level of corruption (India has, too, but corruption is fiercely being attacked by many Indians!), etc. Pakistan has a very high outlay (between 40 and 45% of the budget) for unproductive defense, On the other hand, there is hardly any FDI flowing into the country because of the law and order problem exacerbated by the primitive, myopic and fanatic mullah culture that is destroying not only the country's economy but also its future. Pakistan's image abroad is completely dented. The Pakistanis who are fleeing their country for Australia see no future for themselves and want to get out at any cost, even if means taking such huge risks on the high seas. Like many Indians like to say, they would love to be friends with the people of Pakistan if, only, that country was located in some distant region.
@raj:
Don't get too excited,. your Indian people are also dying to leave India in search for better lives. Lets see you express your opinions in same enthusiasm once they are captured.
Who has stopped them from leaving Pakistan? That's what ex-PM said
what's the role of Pakistan navy?,are they in the high seas catching fish or trying to get hold of Indian fisherman,who unknowingly enter Pakistani waters.
Just shows how desperate people are in Pakistan to get away, they are taking life threatening risks to get away from the country which has no future for these youngsters.The shameless government should take notice of this but knowing this government it will just turn a blind eye to it rather than tackling these and many other issues the youngsters face in the country.
deport them to pakistan.......simple!!!!!!!