http://www.smh.com.au/national/deported-over-mercy-mission-20100130-n5hh.html
Deported over mercy mission MANUEL MITTERNACHT January 31, 2010 Message from Indonesia ... Tamil activist Saradha Nathan and Pamela Curr land in Sydney. Two Australian refugee activists who were deported by Indonesia for trying to resolve the Merak asylum-seeker boat crisis arrived in Sydney yesterday. Tamil activist Saradha Nathan and Pamela Curr, from the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Melbourne, were escorted onto a Qantas flight in Jakarta on Friday night, three days after their passports were seized by Indonesian immigration authorities. They were accused of misusing their visas and were threatened with criminal charges if they spoke to the Indonesian media. The pair, along with a Canadian activist, had been in meetings with senior officials to break the deadlock over the 256 Tamils seized by an Indonesian Navy patrol boat last October at the request of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. The Sri Lankan asylum seekers have maintained a sit-in on their 30-metre wooden cargo boat, moored at a commercial dock. ''Our families are traumatised, we have been threatened by Indonesian authorities,'' Ms Nathan said after arriving at Sydney Airport. She said her deportation was a clear sign of frustration by the Indonesian Government over Australia's inaction on the matter. ''I think Indonesia is trying to give a message to the Australian Government by harassing Australian citizens,'' she said. Police in Merak arrested the three activists after people-smuggling allegations were made. "We have preliminary evidence they were involved in human trafficking activities. We need to question them for more information," National Police chief detective Commander General Ito Sumardi told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. The activists said the charges where changed after Mrs Nathan was mistakenly identified with a people smuggler of the same name. ''Initially I was associated with 'Nathan' the people smuggler. Later they claimed we were in a restricted area at the boat, which is completely untrue.'' Indonesian officials allegedly told her that they did not want to warehouse Australia's refugees. ''We don't want Australia to outsource its responsibilities to Indonesia. We need a solution for these people, so let's take the responsibility,'' she said. The Australian Government refuses to intervene and has called on the refugees to leave the vessel. A spokesman for Immigration Minister Chris Evans said: ''The boat was intercepted by Indonesian authorities in Indonesian waters. We would encourage those on board . to disembark so any claims they may have can be processed.'' Meanwhile, Ms Nathan's family was relieved to have her home. Her 22-year-old daughter, Mithira, said: ''Finally we will get some sleep, we are so glad to have her back.'' [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
