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Paritosh Parasher in Sydney
The stand-off between a ship carrying Afghan refugees and the Australian government took a serious turn on Wednesday, with elite Special Air Service troops boarding the "hijacked" ship and ordering it to be steered away.
Norwegian cargo ship MS Tampa had ventured into Australian waters near Christmas Island after issuing distress calls on radio as a number of asylum seekers on board were stated to be sick.
There are 438 asylum seekers, believed to be mainly Afghanis, on board this ship that had picked them from a sinking Indonesian fishing vessel on Sunday. The ship crew was allegedly forced by the rescued asylum seekers to head towards Australia.
The Australian government has been insisting that the asylum seekers are not its responsibility and they should be returned to their last port of call in Indonesia.
The government's decision to refuse a ship carrying 438 asylum seekers access to Australian waters was irresponsible and inhumane, Australian Democrats have said.
The leader of the opposition Democrats Party Natasha Stott Despoja has criticised the Australian government for turning away the asylum seekers.
"If the government's between a rock and a hard place, these people -- where are they?" Despoja told reporters.
"I mean, these people are presumably circling around with no real hope at the moment, no real signs of assistance," she added.
Meanwhile, in another development, honorary consul of Afghanistan Mahmoud Saikal has pleaded the Australian government to make efforts to identify genuine refugees aboard the ship.
The honorary consul represents the Islamic State of Afghanistan, known as the Northern Alliance, which controls about 10 per cent of the country and is recognised by the UN.
"We appeal to the Australian government to take emergency measures towards the identification of genuine refugees on board," he told reporters in Canberra. "And allow them to prove their case on Australian soil."
Indo-Asian News Service
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