Refugee vigils to be held globally

Protest vigils will be held around the world to mark 100 days since a group of Sri
Lankans were intercepted and returned to Indonesia at Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's
request.
Refugee activists will gather outside Mr Rudd's Sydney office at 12.30pm (AEDT) on
Monday ahead of vigils in Newcastle, Melbourne and Perth.
There will also be vigils outside Australian consulates in Auckland, Toronto and
London.
The Tamils, intercepted by the Indonesian navy at Australia's request and taken to
the Javan port of Merak in October, do not want to come ashore because they fear
they will be forced to wait years for resettlement.
They instead want to be given a rapid resettlement deal like that given to the 78
Sri Lankans who spent a month aboard Australia's Oceanic Viking vessel.
"Kevin Rudd should never have made that call," Refugee Action Coalition spokesman
Ian Rintoul said of the prime minister's request to turn the boat around.
"Their rights as refugees cannot be guaranteed in Indonesia."
As of Monday, the asylum seekers will have spent 100 days holed up on their rickety
cargo boat and protesters will use the occasion to call for them to be brought to
Australia.
They are also demanding there be no "Indonesian solution" to illegal boat arrivals,
no offshore processing and the closing of the Christmas Island detention centre.
The federal government has said it will take its fair share of the Merak asylum
seekers if they are found to be refugees by the United Nations.
Mr Rintoul said a proposal from the Indonesian government to resolve the Merak
situation was expected later this week.
"It's attracted a lot of international attention and I think there's going to be
more," he said.
Refugee groups in both Indonesia and Australia have put forward a number of demands
required for a resolution to the stand-off, including details on the adverse
security findings against four Tamils on the Oceanic Viking.
Mr Rintoul said the group - currently being held on Christmas Island after adverse
findings by ASIO - should be allowed immediate access to lawyers.