Sri Lankans on board a boat marooned in Indonesia for more than a week insist they will continue their journey to Australia if their boat is escorted back into international waters as planned by Indonesian authorities. 
The 44 Sri Lankans, who were stranded in Aceh Besar on   June 11 when their boat developed engine trouble, were scheduled to be taken by bus to a nearby port in Lhoknga, and then escorted out of Indonesian territory.
"The last thing we want to see is for governments to turn boats back into the open sea where it could be very dangerous for people who have been through so much already," said the UNHCR's Indonesia representative Thomas Vargas.
"There have been too many statistics already of people losing their lives in these types of situations on the high seas."
The Geutanyoe Foundation, an Aceh-based humanitarian organisation, said many of the Sri Lankans were in possession of refugee identity cards issued by the government of Tamil Nadu, one of the 29 states of India.
"On World Refugee Day, which falls on   June 20, we once again call on the government of Indonesia to grant immediate and unhindered access to [the UN refugee agency] UNHCR to meet the Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers," it said.
One of the Sri Lankans, 25-year-old Sehuda, told Fairfax Media they would continue to Australia because they could not get citizenship in India. She said they wanted to go to Australia "for a better life and to earn money" and had paid their leader 50,000 "Indian money" (rupees) - the equivalent of $1000 - for a place on the boat.
The Geutanyoe Foundation said over the past two months there had been a renewed crackdown by the military in northern Sri Lanka, which had further deterred Sri Lankan refugees in India from returning to Sri Lanka.
"The fact there are a large number of women and young children on the vessel indicates strongly that they are seeking asylum, not only seeking employment, as has been suggested by several Indonesian observers," it said.
The foundation also warned that Australia had tough policies designed to prevent asylum seekers reaching its shores, including towing boats back to sea.
Indonesian Navy Commander Kicky Salvachdie said: "The Teluk Sibolga navy ship will escort the boat to our border. After that it's up to them."
House of Representatives member Nasir Jamil, who met the Sri Lankans, said they had asked for a new ship to continue their journey.