The Indian government has agreed with to access asylum seekers currently detained off the coast of Australia and determine whether they are Tamil refugees from a camp in Puducherry for Tamils that have fled Sri Lanka, reports the Times of India.
The Australian immigration minister on a visit to on a visit to Delhi told the Indian Foreign Minister, that the asylum seekers were from a camp in India and urged the Indian government to investigate.
A senior Indian official earlier told the Guardian that they were seeking to determine whether any of the asylum seekers detained non the Australian patrol boat had Indian citizenship.
“If they are Indian it is not an Issue, it is their country that they will come back, but we will have to see. At the moment their nationality is unclear. We need to treat them in a humanitarian manner, especially as there are children among them. We are beginning the process,” said the source.
There have been several concerns raised regarding the plight of 157 Tamil asylum seekers are currently on board the Australian border patrol vessel.
Amnesty condemns detainment of Tamil asylum seekers on Australian patrol boat (23 July 2014)
Australia may have breached refugee convention by returning asylum seekers to Sri Lanka - UNHCR (16 July 2014)
Asylum seekers deported by Australia face high risk of torture in Sri Lanka - Amnesty International (08 July 2014)
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