Help the Tamil Asylum Seekers - URGENT!

Points to make:
* These are young men, most of whom are aged 22 & 23 years, the oldest
is 28 years;
* Some have been held, tortured and beaten in Camps in Jaffna because
they are Tamil;
See http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2007/2/12541.html
* In reality many are computer and accounting students and at least
one is a high School student aged 17years;
* Their families raised the money to send them to safety in an attempt
to save their lives;
Sri Lanka is in civil conflict

See
http://www.amnesty.org.au/news_features/news/refugee/sri_lanka_560,000_displaced_people_suffer_effects_of_intensifying_violence

* It is too dangerous to send them to India because the Sri Lankan Navy
sinks Tamil boats on the basis that they are all Tamil Tigers - not all are;
See http://english.people.com.cn/200609/25/eng20060925_306127.html

and http://www.colombopage.com/archive_07/February16140946CH.html
* If they are captured they are forced to serve in the Sri Lankan
military fighting Tamils; Understandably they do not want to do this;
See http://www.tamilnation.org/indictment/genocide95/gen9560.htm
* They came to Australia legitimately seeking asylum. Under the Refugee
Convention to which we are signatory, Australia is obliged to receive them
and assess their claim.
* They should be provided with legal advice and counselling immediately.
* Many are traumatised from beatings and torture received in detention
camps in Sri Lanka they need counselling and legal advice.
Please ring Kevin Rudds office urgently:

Tel: (02) 6277 4022
Fax: (02) 6277 8495

Email: Kevin.Rudd.MP@aph.gov.au

Tel: (07) 3899 4031
Fax: (07) 3899 5755

Labor must stand up for the Refugee Convention and demand that Howard
allow these young men to make their claims and to properly assess those
claims.

End this secret incommunicado detention!

Pamela Curr
ASRC Melbourne.

***TAKE URGENT ACTION TO PREVENT APPALLING TREATMENT OF ASYLUM SEEKERS***

***TAKE URGENT ACTION TO PREVENT APPALLING TREATMENT OF ASYLUM SEEKERS***

Hi there everyone,

We have a little bit of a situation which would benefit from 2 minutes of your time.

You may be aware that a few days ago, the Australian Navy intercepted a boatload of 83 Sri Lankan asylum seekers off the coast of Australia, just near Christmas Island.

In a massive contravention of customary international law, human rights law, humanitarian law and Australia's self-assumed treaty obligations, the Howard government has made secret arrangements with Indonesia to send the asylum seekers immediately back to Indonesia, from whence they will be sent back to Sri Lanka. (Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/deal-to-send-boat-people-packing/2007/02/23/1171734021096.html)

Howard has categorically refused to let the men so much as lodge their applications for asylum in Australia, which is their rights under the law of Australia AND international law. Remember, ***arriving in Australia unauthorised, by boat, even with no papers, is NOT illegal!

Sending people back to a place where they may suffer persecution is called 'refoulement', and it is strictly and unambiguously prohibited under international law as a fundamental principle aimed at protecting the rights and the lives of the world's most vulnerable people.

Let's also remember that the Government has just completed work on an 800-bed $360 million detention facility on Christmas Island. It is ready and waiting to receive these asylum seekers, and although i abhor the existence of such a facility, it is vastly preferable that it should be put to use while these men's claims are processed, rather than sending them back to a situation of grave danger.

It is a serious concern that our Government has decided that this kind of behaviour is OK, especially in light of the fact that it has been proven that at least 9 men and 3 children have been killed upon return from Australia to their homelands in recent years.

PLEASE TAKE A FEW MOMENTS TO SEND A BRIEF EMAIL TO PEOPLE WHO ARE MAKING THESE DECISIONS.

Here are a few points you may like to make:

* "Everyone has the right to seek and enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution" Article 14, Universal Declaration of Human Rights
* Article 33 of the 1951 Refugees Convention *ABSOLUTELY PROHIBITS* sending people back to a country or territory where they may face danger. This is exactly what we're about to do!
* These 83 people are the first asylum seekers to arrive by boat in Australia in over a year. Some areas in Europe get 1500 asylum seekers A DAY!
* Some of the poorest countries in the world are the most generous hosts of asylum seekers. Ethiopia, Eritrea etc... Iran and Pakistan both hold over 2 million refugees each. Australia takes 0.05% of the world's refugee burden.
* Historically, asylum seekers arriving by boat in Australia are found to be genuine refugees in 92% of cases. Think about it like this: people don't uproot their lives, leave their families and get in a leaky boat for 10 days to travel to a strange country unless they are SERIOUS about the dangers that face them at home.

The Government:
PM John Howard - you'll have to contact him using this form: http://www.pm.gov.au/contact/index.cfm
Kevin.Andrews.MP@aph.gov.au - Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews.

AND your local member of the Liberal Party:
using this form... http://www.aec.gov.au/esearch/main.htm


And Labor:
Kevin.Rudd.MP@aph.gov.au - (Labor) Leader. Let him know that you do not support Howard's approach, and you'd be interested to see what his approach would be. Encourage him to OPPOSE this stunt and provide a strong, principled alternative.
Julia.Gillard.MP@aph.gov.au - (Labor) co-leader of Labor party.
Tony.Burke.MP@aph.gov.au - (Labor) Shadow Immigration Spokesman. Would be immigration minister if Labor wins the election. He is generally very open to dialogue and reasonableness but we have yet to see what happens when the rubber hits the road! Encourage him, as well, to take a strong, vocal stand against this awful behaviour.


Thanks very much for reading. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me!

Jessie

Christmas Island: So Where the Bloody Hell Are You??

I know I'm supposed to be waxing lyrical about the beauty of southern France (and I will, I promise!), but I'm afraid this is taking precedence at the moment! This evening something landed in my inbox which I feel compelled to share with you all.

You may know that the Australian Government has just spent $360million on a shiny new detention facility on Christmas Island. Its capacity is 800 people, and it has purpose built rooms designd to hold children. Does the idea of imprisoning innocent, already traumatised children not quite sit right, or is it just me...?

Also, the figure of $360million is particularly interesting when you consider that EIGHT people have arrived unauthorised in Australian territory by boat in the last 12 months. If we divide these 8 people into the $360m, we come up with the princely sum of $45million per head. Wowee. That is some hella expensive accommodation, even if it IS in the name of border protection! Do you think it's worth it?

In fact, if we generously divide the $360m by 12,000 (the number of unauthorised boat arrivals over the past TEN YEARS - the entire duration of Howard's term in office), we come up with the not-insignificant figure of $30,000 per head. That might be worthwhile (at a stretch) if the 12,000 were dodgey brothers or terrorists, but remember that upwards of 90% of them have been found to be genuine refugees, fleeing persecution and in desperate need of protection. For a government which prides itself on good economic management, I have to say I think a preschooler of less-than-average intelligence would do a better job.

Anyway, here is a photograph of said detention facility....

Can you imagine its isolation, and its separation from mainland Australia, legal assistance, community support, media, and the lifeline of visitors... This is a system purpose-built to traumatise and discourage people to the extent that they would rather risk torture and death at home, than wait out access to the rights they hold under Australian law, treaty law and customary international law. Deterrence has always factored highly in the government’s motivation. Julian Burnside QC often comments on this idea of deterrence, and his argument follows thus: "Mr. Ruddock and Mr. Howard have made it clear that the mandatory detention system, and the iniquitous Pacific Solution, are designed to "send a message". This decodes as: we treat innocent people harshly to deter others. The punishment of innocent people to shape the behaviour of others is impossible to justify. It is the philosophy of hostage-takers."

Although Burnside is accused from time to time of engaging in hyperbole, his rationale in this instance is difficult to fault. The Executive Committee of the UNHCR has also made a comment on the use of detention for anything other than a legitimate administrative purpose, concluding that "detention of asylum seekers which is applied… as part of a policy to deter future asylum seekers, or to dissuade those who have commenced their claims from pursuing them, is contrary to the norms of refugee law. It should not be used as a punitive or disciplinary measure for illegal entry or presence in the country".

What do we have to say about that, Messrs Howard & Ruddock...?

I'm in Europe at the moment, studying international humanitarian law, human rights and refugee law. More often that I care to mention, Australia is cited as an example of a country which drastically misinterprets an twists the meanings of the rights and obligations enshrined under international law in this field, and we are rapidly becoming a laughing stock and a worst-case-scenario when it comes to respecting human rights.

This is a Federal election year. Enough said. Let your ballot do the talking. This kind of (extremely expensive!) cruelty is not OK!