Sri Lankans remain on Australian ship

JAKARTA, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- A standoff persisted Thursday in Indonesia as 78 asylum-seekers from Sri Lanka refused to leave an Australian Customs ship.

The Oceanic Venture remained at anchor off the coast, The Australian reported.

Indonesian officials reacted testily when asked about a statement by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Rudd told the Australian parliament Wednesday he had been promised the five women and five children on the ship would be housed outside a detention camp.

"We're waiting for Australian officials to go on board later today and convince them to come off, because that's all they can do," said Dino Patti Djalal, a senior presidential adviser on international affairs. "They're on Australian territory so we can't do anything about it. We just hope Australia can get them off the boat."

Some Indonesian officials told the newspaper they do not want their country to become a processing center for Australia-bound refugees. Some suggested sending the next boat intercepted in Indonesian waters back to Sri Lanka.