Indonesia probes boat tragedy

Hussain Jawad (L), the only survivor of a family of 21

The Indonesian Government has said it will investigate the sinking of a boat off the coast of Java last Friday in which at least 350 asylum seekers were killed.

Survivors, who clung to wreckage for days, have spoken of their anger at the people smugglers who packed the boat to overflowing.

An eight-year-old child was the only survivor of a family of 21. It is horrific

Richard Danziger, IOM

According to the Indonesian navy, the criminal gang received between $800 and $1,900 per refugee for the one-way run to the nearest Australian territorial waters, about 350 kilometres (220 miles) south of Java.

But an Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman told the BBC's East Asia Today programme it was an international problem, not just one for Indonesia.

Wahid Supriadi said there were 1,600 registered refugees in Indonesia but the figure could be higher. He appealed for international assistance to help detect and deal with asylum seekers arriving in Indonesia.

"We have to talk about how to handle such a huge international tragedy. It is the responsibility of every country," he said.

Survivors

On Tuesday, 44 survivors reached the safety of a hostel near the capital, where they are being looked after by international aid workers.

Many have required medical treatment and are severely traumatized.

Some, including young children, have lost their entire families.

They have been speaking of their ordeal over the last five days after the engines on their boat broke down in the rough seas between Java and Sumatra.

Musa, who is from Iraq, said he and 12 other people managed to grab hold of a large piece of wreckage which kept them afloat.

But he said, gradually more and more people were washed away.

He survived more than 20 hours in the water before being rescued by another boat.

Richard Danziger of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said that according to accounts from survivors there were 421 men, women and children on board the boat when it left Indonesia.

He said the passengers were mainly Iraqis, with some Iranians, Afghans, Palestinians and Algerians. The crew of the boat was thought to be Indonesian but this has not been confirmed.

The boat was so overcrowded that shortly after setting off 21 passengers demanded to be put down on an island - where they are still believed to be.

Australia's tough policy

Another boatload of about 220 asylum seekers, most of whom said they were from Afghanistan, arrived off Christmas Island at the weekend.

Now Australia processes refugees on Pacific islands

Australia has been trying to deter the trade by imposing tough new immigration laws and not allowing asylum seekers onto Australian soil.

Three Indonesians appeared in an Australian court on Tuesday accused of attempting to smuggle 434, mainly Afghan, asylum seekers onto Australian territory in late August.

Bastian Disun, 32, Nordames, 31 and Aldo Benjamin, 21, were arrested after being rescued from their sinking boat by the Norwegian cargo ship the MV Tampa.

All the asylum seekers were later transferred to the Pacific island state of Nauru and New Zealand where their applications are being processed.