Burmese In Nauru To Be Re-settled In Australia

Burmese in Nauru to be re-settled in Australia

Seven Burmese asylum seekers on Nauru have been found to be refugees and will be re-settled in Australia, subject to final health and character clearances.

An immigration taskforce will travel to Nauru today (subs: 9 December) to finalise the applications and commence making arrangements for their resettlement.

'This group of people has been in Nauru for more than a year and has been assessed as having a well-founded fear of persecution should they be returned home,' Andrew Metcalfe, Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship said today.

It is expected that the seven Burmese will arrive in Australia before Christmas and will be resettled in Brisbane.

Originally, a group of eight Burmese arrived on Ashmore Reef in August 2006.

One of the group accepted voluntary readmission to Malaysia, where he and his family were then granted offshore humanitarian visas and resettled in Australia.

'Further decisions will be made soon about resettlement arrangements for the 74 Sri Lankans in Nauru who also have been found to be refugees,' the secretary said.

'Decisions on a further eight Sri Lankans on Nauru are pending.

'One of these people is having a refugee refusal decision reviewed and seven are facing criminal charges in Nauru,' he added.

ENDS

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