Howard rejects refugees' 'moral blackmail'

Security has been stepped up at the Mangere Refugee Center in Auckland, New Zealand following the arrival of more asylum seekers

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) -- Australian Prime Minister John Howard branded as blackmailers refugees who threw their children into the Indian Ocean after a navy ship turned their boat away from Australian waters.

On Monday the refugees' boat drifted about 45 kilometers (28 miles) off the coast of Australia's remote Indian Ocean territory of Christmas Island after the passengers sabotaged its rudder and engine.

On Saturday night the Australian navy ship, HMAS Adelaide, intercepted the boat carrying about 190 asylum seekers on its way from Indonesia to Australia.

All the would-be asylum seekers on board the boat are believed to be of Iraqi origin.

The government said that people started jumping overboard and some threw their children into the water after naval officers boarded the boat and ordered it into international waters. All the refugees were wearing lifejackets.

'Stunt'

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Howard described the incident as a stunt and "an attempt to morally blackmail Australia."

"Genuine refugees, don't put their own children at risk. They become refugees in the name of the preservation and safety of their children," he told Sydney radio station 2GB, adding that he did not want such people in Australia.

Steve Ingram, a spokesman for Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock, said the crippled boat was being towed Monday by the HMAS Adelaide to hold its position off Christmas Island while the government pondered the fate of its passengers.

He said Australian officials were speaking to their Indonesian counterparts seeking to have them take responsibility for the refugees.

"It's still a work in progress," said Ingram.

Change of policy

In the past month Australia has refused entry to almost a thousand boat people following a dramatic change of policy by Howard.

In late August, Howard refused permission for a Norwegian cargo ship, the Tampa, to enter Australian waters after it saved mostly Afghan asylum seekers from a sinking Indonesian ferry.

New Zealand has taken in about 150 of the refugees and is processing their asylum applications.

The rest were accepted by the Pacific island of Nauru to be processed there by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees staff in return for more than 10 million dollars in aid.

Howard's tough stance earned unprecedented international criticism, but at home the government's popularity soared, pushing it ahead of the opposition Labor Party in opinion polls for the first time this year and only weeks from the election.