Australia Reaches Deal on Refugees

More than 430 refugees stuck for days on a Norwegian cargo ship off Australia’s Christmas Island will be sent to New Zealand and Nauru, where their claims for asylum will be heard, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said today.

The agreement appears to resolve a six-day standoff that began when the Norwegian vessel, the Tampa, rescued the refugees from a sinking Indonesian ferry early this week and tried to land them on the tiny Australian island after some of them threatened to jump overboard.

Australia has refused to accept the asylum seekers, who are mainly from Afghanistan, arguing that they are “queue jumpers” trying to circumvent the country’s normal immigration procedures by paying smugglers to bring them in.

“I am announcing today that we have reached agreement with the governments of New Zealand and Nauru for processing of the people rescued by the MV Tampa,” Howard said at a news conference in Sydney.

About 150 of the refugees will go to New Zealand and the rest to the small South Pacific island of Nauru so they can apply for asylum and have their cases considered. Eventually, some of those accepted will be allowed to live in New Zealand; the rest will be resettled in other countries, including Australia, officials said.

Howard, who is seeking reelection this year, has made it a point of principle not to let the refugees into the country ahead of other applicants for asylum. He said today’s deal ensures that none of the boat people will land in Australia.

“I should emphasize that this agreement and this potential solution to this very difficult issue does not involve the people being taken on to Christmas Island or on to Australian territory or any part of the Australian mainland,” the prime minister said.

Australia has been widely criticized for refusing to accept the refugees, who have been living in cramped conditions with poor sanitation since they were rescued by the Norwegian ship.

Although the refugees set out from Indonesia, the Indonesian government refused to take them back after they were rescued in international waters.

Howard ordered the ship not to enter Australian waters, but the captain defied the command, saying some of the refugees threatened to jump overboard if they were not taken to Australia.

Armed Australian commandos boarded the Tampa on Wednesday and seized control of the freighter. It has been floating since then off Christmas Island, a northern outpost of Australia about 220 miles south of the Indonesian island of Java.

Though refusing to let the refugees disembark, Australia has flown food, portable toilets and medical supplies to the vessel.

United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson criticized Australia for not letting the refugees disembark as required under the U.N. convention on human rights.

“The convention provides that they should be accepted at the nearest port,” she said. “The issue is a very serious one. At least their situation should be assessed. They should be admitted; they should be treated in an appropriate way.’

It is unclear how long the refugees will have to wait to be taken to New Zealand and Nauru.

Millions of people have fled Afghanistan in recent years because of war, famine, drought and religious oppression. About 2 million Afghan refugees are living in Pakistan, 1.5 million in Iran and 100,000 in Russia, according to the U.N. The United States has accepted 4,300 and Australia 3,600.

Australia, with a population of only 19 million, is a favored destination for refugees from Asia and the Middle East who believe, rightly or wrongly, that the country is liberal in granting residence visas.

Norway’s ambassador to Australia, Ove Thorsheim, visited the ship Friday and said the refugees wanted to go only to Australia.

“I am happy to say that the condition of the rescued people is as good as it can be under the circumstances,” Thorsheim told reporters.