Relatives of Lebanese Involved in Indonesia Boat Tragedy Slam State Inaction
Residents of the northern region of Akkar briefly blocked on Tuesday several roads to protest officials' inaction over revealing the fate of the Lebanese who drowned in the sinking of an Australia-bound boat off Indonesia.
The residents demanded officials to assume their responsibilities and reveal the fate of their relatives.
The closure of the roads caused a massive bumper-to-bumper traffic.
The death toll from the accident, which involved Lebanese, rose to 39 on Monday, officials said, with more feared missing.
The boat, which was estimated to be carrying between 80 and 120 Middle Eastern illegal immigrants, went down on Friday in rough seas off Indonesia's main island of Java. It was headed for Australia's Christmas Island.
Twenty-eight people have escaped alive.
The Lebanese foreign ministry said Sunday there were 68 Lebanese, including children, on board the ill-fated vessel and that 18 survived the ordeal while at least 29 were still missing.
Rescuers have been unable to deploy boats to hunt in the rough seas, with waves at heights of four to six meters.
Hundreds have died in recent years attempting the journey after boarding rickety, wooden boats in Indonesia.
Australia's new Prime Minister Tony Abbott insisted Monday that his country has "total respect" for Indonesia's sovereignty after his tough refugee policies, including towing asylum-seekers' boats back to Indonesia, sparked anger.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa had led a series of complaints from officials and lawmakers that Abbott's tow-back policy, part of his "stop the boats" campaign, could infringe Indonesian sovereignty.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Indonesia was also burdened by asylum-seekers passing through, adding: "Australia and Indonesia are both countries that have become victims, we have become victims of these acts of people-smuggling."
Survivors of the accident told journalists that they sent their GPS coordinates to Australian rescuers to assist them -- but no one came to their aid.
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