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Sri Lanka migrant stand-off in Indonesia port ends

April 19, 2010 – BBC News, Jakarta
Sri Lankan migrants who have been stuck on a boat off the coast of Indonesia have finally left the port of Merak.

After a six-month-long stand-off, they are now in buses on their way to a detention centre in Indonesia.

The Sri Lankans had been refusing to get off their boat until they were guaranteed safe passage to Australia to live there.

The resolution brings an end to a crisis that has plagued both the Indonesian and Australian governments.

Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry spokesman told the BBC that the majority of the 200 Tamil Sri Lankan refugees were now in buses headed for Jakarta’s airport, to be relocated to other parts of the country.
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