Another boatload of asylum seekers intercepted by Navy

[Solly]

The Navy has intercepted a boat carrying 56 asylum seekers off Australia's northern coast.

It's off to see Santa again....

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/04/25/2552610.htm

 

[So_Cynical]

The Navy has intercepted a boat carrying 56 asylum seekers off Australia's northern coast.

It's off to see Santa again....

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/04/25/2552610.htm

:sleeping:

 

[It's Snake Pliskin]

Considering the government's policy it is not surprising. Does China take in immigrants?

 

[Bobby]

Asylum seekers ? how about calling them for what they realy are - economical parasites ..

 

[Julia]

The government has claimed that the increased arrivals of asylum seekers has been solely due to so called push factors, i.e. wars in other countries.

This article fairly clearly sets the record right on this in that Australia's arrivals are not in line with the rest of the world.

Today's "Sunday Mail" reports that the Brisbane Transit Centre is now full.
So we are now accommodating the overflow from Christmas Island in four star motels.

Might be good to show the same hospitality to some of our own homeless people.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/pol...nl&emcmp=Punch&emchn=Newsletter&emlist=Member

 

[Agentm]

The government has claimed that the increased arrivals of asylum seekers has been solely due to so called push factors, i.e. wars in other countries.

This article fairly clearly sets the record right on this in that Australia's arrivals are not in line with the rest of the world.

Today's "Sunday Mail" reports that the Brisbane Transit Centre is now full.
So we are now accommodating the overflow from Christmas Island in four star motels.

Might be good to show the same hospitality to some of our own homeless people.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/pol...nl&emcmp=Punch&emchn=Newsletter&emlist=Member

time to get real i think, imho your lacking great deal of compassion toward humanity..

An Appeal Letter over the Plights of Rohingya Refugees Boat People

in Thailand and Indonesia.



We, Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM) are very much concerned over on going situation of Burmese refugees, especially for people who flee for fear of persecutions and facing again various violations in country of refuge. In particular, recently arrived Burmese Rohingya boat people refugees who were released by Thai authority into the sea to death.



We are very much concerned over Thai authority mistreatment over separately arrival of 1,000 Rohingya Burmese refugee boat people. They were detained in horrific condition for two to four weeks before the Thai authority release them into international water at mid-night without engines and foods. Boat people therefore, flowed separately into Andaman-India, Aceh province of Indonesia and some back to Burma. Hundred of dead bodies were recovered by Indian coast guard, about 500 were feared dead. Whereas, some claimed as Bangladeshi due to fear of forced deportation to Burma.



The Rohingya boat people who reached into Thailand and Indonesia were deem as economic migrants and therefore treated as undocumented migrants. We condemn the act of both countries who denied access for the UNHCR to the boat people. We feel very sad as the ASEAN countries are silent about the mistreatment of the boat people by Thai authority. This clearly shows that the ASEAN countries are reluctant to tarnish the image of its member states. While there is lack of transparent approach on vulnerable boat people, genuine reasons of leaving the country will be left behind. Finally, their claim as refugee was delayed on both countries’ reluctant to deal with UNHCR and they will be repatriated and prosecuted by the military junta. By doing this both countries are considered as committing genocide indirectly towards Rohingya boat people. The Thai government had violated International Laws, its democratic rules, and generosity and kindness of Thai people. Instead of protecting the vulnerable boat people, the Thai government sentenced them under the Immigration Act which resulted in force deportation to Burma.



The military junta had expressed that Rohingya had no historical connection with Myanmar. The junta official said “there is no so-called Rohingya ethnic minority group in our history before or after our independence”. He further added “it is totally unacceptable to say Rohingyas are from Myanmar’. (New Straits Times, January 30, 2009). This is a total lie by the military junta as the Rohingya exist in Arakan State as early as 7th Century A.D. Rohingyas has long history in Arakan State of Burma but the military junta refused to accept the fact. This made Rohingya as stateless and facing continuous abuses and prosecutions from the regime.

There are about 230 000 Rohingya seeking protection in Bangladesh though Rohingya are not welcome by the Bangladesh government. This is a result of the persecutions towards ethnic Rohingya by the military junta. They are also not safe as many of them had forcefully repatriated by the Bangladesh government and face prosecutions by the junta. Thousands of Rohingya refugees in detentions for more than a decade are under way for repatriation. The harsh treatment by the Bangladesh government forced them to find a safe place and started leaving the country across the sea by boat.



But, SPDC government has good gains with Bangladesh. Thus, Bangladesh dared to commit against humanity, international laws, instead of its Islamic obligations. Bangladesh had succeeded in repatriating thousands of Rohingya refugees without mechanism to protect them widely in 1992, and it continues secretly.



Another 15 000 Rohingya are seeking protection from the Malaysian government for the past 3 decades. Malaysia is not a signatory country to the Refugee Convention 1951 and has no legislation for refugees protection, therefore, refugees are considered as undocumented migrants and facing deportation. MERHROM continuously appealing to the Malaysian government to protect Burmese refugees until relocate to a signatory country. While the UNHCR has started Resettlement for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, we hope the UNHCR will accelerate the same to the Rohingya refugees in Malaysia. The equal treatment has to be accorded to all refugees without distinction as refugees face similar situation and for some ethnic group like stateless Rohingya are even worst.



Well known to the world that we Rohingyas are the worst victim of human rights violations and defecto stateless group in Burma which forced us to flee into neighboring countries.



The Rohingya situation became worst in late 1960 by promotion of Buddhism as the state religion by U Nu government. It had continuously taken place in regard of capitalism and to create tension between Rakhines and Rohingyas, and constituted Rakhine state from Arakan division through restoration of Rakine territory.



Rohingyas were widely affected by;

1.

Na Ga Min Operation in 1978 under U Nu government (Revolutionary Govt.)
2.

Pyi Ta Yar Operation in 1991 under Saw Maung government (State Law and Order Restoration Council).
3.

Na Sa Ka Operation since 1992 under State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).

Both Na Ga Min and Pyi Ta Yar operations made about 500,000 Rohingyas to flee into neighboring countries particularly in Bangladesh.



The military junta has perpetrated severe human rights violations against ethnic Rohingya including;

1.

Destruction of homes, settlements, villages, mosques and religious schools
2.

Denial of Citizenship by 1982 Citizen Law and rejected from ethnic groups
3.

Severe restriction of movement
4.

Restriction on the right to marry and form a family
5.

Confiscation of land and property
6.

Denied education
7.

Force labor
8.

Raped and Sexual violence
9.

Arbitrary killings and arrests
10.

Tortures, extortions and taxations
11.

Muslim settlements were being substituted by new settlers.



The report published by the Altsean Burma entitle “Rohingya and Muslims in Arakan State: Slow-Burning Genocide” has clearly reveals gross human rights violations towards ethnic Rohingya. The recent report published by the Refugee International and Christian Solidarity Worldwide reveals the same. Unfortunately, the world leaders and the United Nations are not doing enough to address the plight of Rohingya refugees in Arakan and in exile. The ignorance of the world leaders and the United Nations over the worsening situation in Burma only increase the death of Burmese people under the rules of military regime.



While the military continues its ethnic cleansing and persecution towards Rohingyas, many are fleeing continuously into unexpected region like Bangladesh, Thailand and Malaysia. Thus, they required to meet international protection in country of refuge. They cannot be considered as illegal. Their genuine reasons for leaving the country must be recognized.



We observed that Refugees Agency-UNHCR is weak in protecting refugees from where persecution and crimes took place. Therefore, MERHROM would like to draw kind attention over unfortunate boat people refugees. The UNHCR with its mandate have to play more active role to identify and protect refugees and increase dialogue with source and host country of refugees to stop criminalizing and deportation of refugees in accordance to the International Standards.



We appeal to the ASEAN countries to protect Burmese refugees particularly Rohingyas due to its stateless status and their vulnerability. ASEAN countries must refer all refugees who reached at their land to the UNHCR for their protection.



We appeal to the world leaders especially to the leaders of the Resettlement countries to accept stateless Rohingya refugees in the Resettlement program as many of them are facing human rights violations in the host countries and denied Resettlement to the third country.

 

[Tink]

I cant believe we complain for 2,000 people

The US received 49,000 asylum claims, more than any other industrialised country. The US was followed by France (42,000), Canada (33,300) Britain (29,800) and Germany (27,600).

 

[Happy]

To make sure that poor souls (who miraculously have enough money to pay bribes and ticket to get smuggled and jump the queue) do not endanger themselves, why our Navy doesn’t pick them up from places they depart from?

We take them anyway, and this way it would be much, much safer and most probably UN will commend us for that.

Once our wealth and good life will be diluted to what they run away from, there will be stop of any further immigration and maybe some will try to find greener pastures elsewhere.

 

[bunyip]

time to get real i think, imho your lacking great deal of compassion toward humanity..

I think it's time for you to get real and understand a few things.....

* Julia has worked tirelessly for many years as a voluntary worker for disadvantaged people in her community. She has the brains to see that rather than trying to solve the problems of disadvantaged people from other countries, there's plenty of scope for her right here at home to try and help people less fortunate than herself.
She'd probably leave you and me for dead when it comes to compassion for other people.
So don't lecture her about lacking compassion towards humanity.


* Governments must (or should) make decisions based first and foremost on economics and national security. By taking in all these illegal refugees, most of whom don't speak English, have little in the way of job skills, and are an economic burden on us from the outset, we place an enormous burden on our financial and physical resources. From a security angle, some of them may well become the next terrorists planning attacks on Australia. This has already been proven in other countries. Indeed, right here in Australia we currently have in custody a number of Muslims who are being held on charges of plotting a terrorist attack on our country. We allow them in, they plan to attack and kill us.
The more of them we take in, the less people we can accept from English speaking countries - people with job skills and whose values, culture and religions are similar to those of mainstream Australia. These people would immediately slot into our communities and start making a contribution to our country and our economy, rather then being a burden on us as most of these illegal refugees are.

* While there are many people in the world who have copped a rough deal due to wars, political and religious persecution etc, it's not our role to try and solve their problems. We have no obligation to play nurse maid to the rest of the world.

* If compassion and humanity are high on your list of priorities, there's plenty of scope for them right here in our own country. We have many thousands of homeless people who need our help. We have many people below the poverty line who need our help. We have many physically and intellectually disabled people who need our help, but at present receive only minimal government funding.
We have many aged pensioners who have worked most of their lives, paid their taxes, but receive pensions that barely allow them to live above the breadline.
I'd much rather see our funds and resources directed to these people, rather than to illegal immigrants.

In this country we can't even adequately provide our own citizens with decent facilities such as an acceptable health care system, decent roads, reliable water supplies, fire and emergency services, yet we're spending billions on overseas aid and on illegal refugees.

It's easy to become complacent and think 'There only a few thousand of these refugees - it's no trouble for a wealthy country like Australia to take them, so what's the big deal'.
This sort of thinking is blind and short-sighted, and fails to see the potential for the illegal refugee problem to escalate. The illegal boat people started off as a trickle but has now become a flood. And it's getting worse. Why? Because since Rudd dismantled the effective measures that Howard put in place to curb illegal immigration, the word has got out that Australia is a soft touch.
Result - our processing facilities are overflowing, our personnel can't cope, and our finances are under strain. And the number of boat people keeps increasing.

It's a serious problem, but unfortunately the Rudd government are not taking it seriously by implementing appropriate measures to deal with it.

I get more than a little tired of hearing you bleeding hearts talking about compassion and humanity in an effort to invoke feelings of guilt in those of us who are not in favour of seeing our country swamped by illegal immigrants.

 

[Julia]

Agent M and Tink: you have no justification for suggesting I lack compassion for refugees on the basis that I posted a link to an item contradicting the government's assertions re refugees: or further, that I would like to see the same accommodation provided to Australians who are disadvantaged.

Consider perhaps that those refugees who have been waiting in camps for years are now being pushed further back down the list because the public servants doing the processing are being swamped with the 'urgent' processing of those who have preferred not to apply for admission to Australia under the formal channels.

We now have admitted to Australia many of the people who deliberately set fire to their boat last year, endangering the lives of our Defence personnel as well as their own. You're of course entitled to your preference as to the character of new Australians. Personally, I'd rather have those who show the courage to follow the proper application process.

Tink, it's not about anything as simplistic as just numbers: it's about principles, and what is fair to all refugees.

 

[newbie trader]

Might be good to show the same hospitality to some of our own homeless people.

Couldn't agree more Julia, the government doesnt seem to want to help its own citizens. I think Oz care in Bris is possibly closing down or already closed due to political disagreements and lack of funding.

"economical parasites" - I wonder if anyone knows which countries citizens 'leech' off us the most...I know the answer, however, I dont have a link to validate it (the answer will suprise you).

NT

 

[Happy]

Two more boats with queue jumpers today:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/29/2859202.htm?section=justin

ASYLUM BOATS INTERCEPTED

Two more boats carrying asylum seekers have been detected in Australian waters, taking the total to 100 since Labor won the 2007 election.
…

 

[Calliope]

Our Border Reception Society (aka Border Protection Command) has let our beloved boat people down badly.

Instead of receiving Rudd's 100th boat with a befitting reception and escort, the HMAS Broome remained at anchor while this boat with it's 41 refugees sailed quietly into Flying Fish Cove and had to ring the authorities to announce their arrival.

The crew of the HMAS Broome are badly in need of a hospitality course.

 

[trainspotter]

Can anyone advise me as to how many deaths in transit there has been since Rudd's Government has laid out the red carpet to the "illegal" boat immigrants?

OOOOOPSSS .. here comes another boatload http://www.news.com.au/breaking-new...christmas-island/story-e6frfku0-1225848559856 TODAY !

 

[Happy]

They don’t even think that people who pay smugglers to enter our waters are not for fun called ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS.
What they do is not legal and we give them visa even if our Government knows that they conduct themselves in corrupt manner to do that.

Why aren’t they failed on: Character grounds?

If they conduct themselves in illegal manner, what message they get?
Is it the first and the last time they did/are going to do illegally?
Aren’t we risking injection of corrupt people into our society?
How is it going to affect our community’s moral/ethical standards?

How when are we going to re-educate them that what they did is ILLEGAL?
So many questions and nobody in Labor Government see it as problem.

 

[Calliope]

The government has claimed that the increased arrivals of asylum seekers has been solely due to so called push factors, i.e. wars in other countries.

Mr Rudd has now discounted "push" factors in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka where most of the smuggled boaties come from. This is tantamount to admitting that it is his "meet, greet and welcome" policy that is pulling them in.

 

[Julia]

Mr Rudd has now discounted "push" factors in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka where most of the smuggled boaties come from. This is tantamount to admitting that it is his "meet, greet and welcome" policy that is pulling them in.

And of course it is. But he will no doubt say that 'conditions have now changed in those countries' so there is no longer the push factor.

It's just a little odd that DFAT is still warning Australians not to travel in Afghanistan due to the extreme security risks.

 

[pilots]

Our Border Reception Society (aka Border Protection Command) has let our beloved boat people down badly.

Instead of receiving Rudd's 100th boat with a befitting reception and escort, the HMAS Broome remained at anchor while this boat with it's 41 refugees sailed quietly into Flying Fish Cove and had to ring the authorities to announce their arrival.

The crew of the HMAS Broome are badly in need of a hospitality course.

Now if our Navy can't find a tub that has a top speed of say 10knots, how are they ever going to find a say drug smuggler who has the best boats with a good top speed??? its all a joke.

 

[Calliope]

Now if our Navy can't find a tub that has a top speed of say 10knots, how are they ever going to find a say drug smuggler who has the best boats with a good top speed??? its all a joke.

Yes, and the joke is on us. I was reading this morning that each Federal MP costs the taxpayer 1 million dollars. It would be interesting to know what the cost of each boat person is. The Naval escort service must be costing us a packet for starters. The are not working for the taxpayer. They are only there to assist the boaties. If they have no intention of turning these boats around they shouldn't be there.

The Christmas Island scam should be shut down. If we want migrants we can get legal ones more cheaply.

The biggest joke of all is that small minority pressure groups and foreigners are trying to dictate to us what "refugees" we should accept, and are even threatening court action on racial grounds. Just the mention of the word "racial" and our media and our politicians usually go to water.

 

[todster]

Now if our Navy can't find a tub that has a top speed of say 10knots, how are they ever going to find a say drug smuggler who has the best boats with a good top speed??? its all a joke.

Did you know that Christmas island is 2600km from Perth and 500km from Jakarta?