Lankan boat people in Aussie ask to stay
Ten Sri Lankan boat people who reached the West Australian coast in a wooden fishing boat last year have formally applied to stay as refugees.
The Immigration Department said the men lodged applications this week and their claims for asylum were being processed.
The men have been at Christmas Island’s detention centre for almost three months.
They were intercepted in their boat at Steep Point, Shark Bay, on November 27 and several managed to swim ashore.
Their arrival was an embarrassment to border protection authorities because they were not detected until holidaymakers from Kalgoorlie reported them. Another two Sri Lankan men who also made the non-stop trip across the Indian Ocean have been returned home at their request.
There are 136 boat people on Christmas Island in its high security detention centre or living in the community while their cases are assessed after a surge in boat arrivals between September and January.
(The West Australian)
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