Controversial deal

Under a refugee swap deal that was first announced in April, Australia agreed to take 4,000 UN-recognized refugees living in Malaysia in return for 800 whose asylum claims have not been processed and who are currently staying at a controversial facility on Christmas Island.

Canberra expressed the hope that the deal would stop the flow of people from Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and other countries in the volatile Middle East buying passages on Indonesian fishing boats to get to Australia and claim asylum.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard told reporters when the deal was signed last month that it would "smash the people smugglers' business model."

"My message to anyone who is considering paying money to a people smuggler and risking their life at sea and perhaps the lives of their family members as well, is do not do that in the false hope that you will be able to have your claim processed in Australia," she said.

Human rights groups slam deal

However, human rights groups and lawyers were up in arms. Amnesty International said Malaysia, which is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention, was a "country with an appalling track record of mistreating refugees and asylum seekers."

Lawyers for the asylum seekers on Christmas Island said the deal might well be illegal. Their claim was vindicated on Monday when Australia's High Court delayed a deportation order for the first batch of 16 asylum seekers who were supposed to take a chartered Airbus to Kuala Lumpur.

David Manne, one of the lawyers, said it was especially wrong that children were supposed to be part of the batch.

"Six of those involved in this case are unaccompanied minors and the minister for immigration is their guardian," Manne told reporters. "He must at all times act in their best interest and the real concern here is that in proposing to expel them to Malaysia he is basically abandoning his obligations to these children to look after their welfare."

No 'loophole' for minors

The Australian government has up till now refused to make an exception for minors.

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen has said it is not "morally acceptable" to provide a "loophole" that essentially says 'I can guarantee you being processed and resettled in Australia and then you can sponsor the rest of your family in.'"

Last month, he said the "bold and cutting-edge deal" would allow the 800 asylum seekers sent from Australia to Malaysia "to be legally allowed to work and have access to education and health care."

On Tuesday, Bowen vowed not to be deterred by the legal challenge and called for the August 22 hearing to be brought forward. "It's important that we make it very clear to people smugglers and asylum seekers and everybody else that Australia is a closed destination for boat travel for asylum seekers."

He also said he believed the government was on "very strong legal grounds" with the policy.

Support from residents

Meanwhile, Amnesty International welcomed the ruling, reiterating its stance that the deal was "inhumane, inappropriate and potentially illegal under Australian and international law."

The court-enforced delay is a setback for a government that is also contending with a hunger strike in the Christmas Island detention centre among those listed for deportation to Malaysia.

The asylum seekers have received overwhelming support from the residents of Christmas Island. "I would urge them to come to this island before they remove them - it is a very important that they witness the result of their decisions," one islander named Kaye Bernard said to reporters.

Author: Udo Schmidt, Anne Thomas (dpa, AFP)
Editor: Sachin Gaur