RISE

Merak Boat Tragedy

Two hundred and fifty four Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers have been living in squalid conditions on a wooden boat Jeya Lestari 5, moored on the port of Merak, Indonesia for more than 100 days.  This boat of asylum seekers was intercepted by the Indonesian Navy in Indonesian waters on October 11th, 2009, after a direct request was made by the Australian Prime Minister, Mr. Kevin Rudd, to the President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as it was heading for Australian Shores.  Unlike Indonesia, Australia is a signatory to the Refugee Convention.

FACTS

Currently

• No humanitarian agencies apart from the International Organisation for Migration have been allowed to visit the boat.
• International Organization for Migration which is being provided 12 million dollars a year by the Australian government (as part of Australia’s “Indonesian Solution”) to provide humanitarian assistance to asylum seekers warehoused in Indonesia is refusing to visit this boat.
• No Independent monitors including the Indonesian Human rights commissioner himself has been given access to the boat. (He visited the boat twice, in October and November 2009, and has applied for access to the boat again, but has still not received authorization from the Indonesian Department of Foreign Affairs.)
• Media access is not allowed.

People on the boat:

• There are 35 children on the boat including a baby that just turned 1 and was born in the conflict area during the last stages of war in Sri Lanka.
• There are 27 women on the boat including one woman who is 8 months pregnant
• Over 100 people on the boat have UNHCR cards issued in Malaysia.

Conditions on the boat:

• The boat is designed to hold 40 people and there is only 1 toilet
• Food is supplied but it is unhygienic, lacks nutritional value and is not varied to suit the medical and dietary needs of the people on the boat.
• Fuel for the boat is not supplied. Hence the little fuel they are able to obtain by purchasing it from the locals is rationed and each person can only have a shower every two days, since the water has to be pumped by the motor on the boat.
• Many are suffering from illness on this boat.

Death on the boat due to deprivation of humanitarian assistance and Medical negligence:

These conditions caused mainly by severe restrictions placed on the people on this boat have already resulted in one death on this boat.  A 29 year old Man, George Jacob Samuel Christin died due to Medical negligence on 23rd December 2009, after an avoidable illness (severe food poisoning).  Even a priest, Father Suyadi was denied access to the boat on 27th December 2009 to conduct a funeral service.

Those who volunteered to get off the boat:
They are like the Canary in the Mine.  Here is what happened to them.

• 1 man was assisted to return to Sri Lanka with assistance from the IOM.  However as soon as he landed in Sri Lanka he disappeared and was found in a detention camp in Boosa Galle.  Australian Refugee rights activists visiting Indonesia in December 2009, brought this to the attention of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry and the Indonesian Human Rights commission.  The latest they heard from his family is that he has finally been released but the family is afraid to reveal details of this.
• The others have been held inside a Detention Cell in Jakarta for more than 2 months (24 hours/7days a week).  Some of them had UNHCR cards, now issued by Indonesia UNHCR. The cell holds 12 men and is about 15 meter sq.  There is no air-conditioning in the cell.  People are allowed to smoke in the cell.  Guards and officials are also allowed to smoke in the building.  Smokers and non-smokers in the cell are kept together.  The food that is provided is not varied according to the health needs of the detainees.
• Captain Kapil and Two other Sri Lankan Navy officials from the Sri Lankan Embassy in Jakarta visited this cell and interrogated these men.

Primary concerns and fears of those on the boat:

They are fearful if that if they do disembark, they would be placed in detention and also be interrogated by Sri Lankan Government officials.  Threats have also been made by Indonesian officials that they would be forcibly removed from the boat and deported back to Sri Lanka.  There is no protection from harassment from local police and immigration officials. There have been a number of assaults on asylum seekers by police. Immigration officials have confiscated badly needed medicines, food supplements for the pregnant woman and other supplies provided by humanitarian workers

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