Smith to discuss refugees in Sri Lanka

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith will visit Sri Lanka to discuss the
growing asylum seeker issue on Monday.

So far this year, at least 39 boats have tried to reach Australia, with the Rudd
government saying the recent end of the civil war in Sri Lanka has led to a surge in
Tamil asylum seekers.
Two separate boatloads of Sri Lankan asylum seekers are refusing to disembark in
Indonesia, and are instead insisting on being sent to Australia.
Mr Smith said human trafficking would continue to be a problem, which needed to be
tackled with source and transit countries, including Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
Australia had provided substantial assistance to help assist Sri Lanka move
civilians back into the community and was contemplating further assistance, he told
reporters in Perth on Sunday.
More than 200,000 people remain in camps for displaced people.
Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to Australia Senaka Walgampaya said on Sunday many Sri
Lankan asylum seekers were economic refugees using the country's civil war as an
excuse to seek asylum abroad.
Mr Smith said seeking a better lifestyle or economic circumstances was not grounds
for refugee status.
"Anyone who makes a claim of asylum of Australia is assessed in accordance with our
international obligations and accordance with our obligations under the refugee
convention for asylum purposes," he said.
"And wanting a better life or a better lifestyle or being a so called economic
refugee does not qualify for refugee status under the convention."
The foreign minister said the government would not be taking up Nationals leader
Barnaby Joyce's suggestion to send the boatload of asylum seekers onboard the
Oceanic Viking in Indonesia back to Sri Lanka.
"In advance of a proper assessment of their claims, that in my view would be in
breach of our international obligations and in breach of the refugee convention," Mr
Smith said.
"If in the event any onboard are shown not to be refugees then in the normal course
of events they would be returned to their country of origin in accordance with the
UNHCR procedures."
An orderly and peaceful disembarkation of the asylum seekers onboard the Customs
vessel remained the objective of the government, Mr Smith said.
"I think it's already on the public record that some people onboard the boat have
previously been considered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and
accorded refugee status," he said.
Australia would continue to negotiate with Indonesia and the asylum seekers, Mr
Smith said.
"We continue to be in discussions with Indonesian officials and the conversations
I've had with my counterpart... remain that we continue to work very hard to resolve
this issue and we're not proposing to put a deadline or a timetable on it," he said.