Amanda Hodge; 12/11/09; (3 Items)
The Australian government came to Sri Lanka this week bearing gifts in the hope of winning co-operation in its bid to reduce asylum-seeker numbers. One was material: $11 million towards de-mining the former northern conflict zone and resettling about 250,000 civilians still held behind razor wire in internally displaced people (IDP) camps. The other was less tangible: rhetoric that pandered to the Sri Lankan view that most asylum-seekers are Tamil Tigers seeking to reinvigorate the separatist struggle from distant shores. Both bore the whiff of appeasement.
See: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/politics/smell-of-appeasement-surrounds-asylum-seeker-deal/story-e6frgczf-1225796287122; Ban Tamil Tigers, Sri Lanka urges; Paul Maley & Stephen Fitzpatrick; 121/11/09; http://www.theaustralian.com.au/politics/ban-tamil-tigers-sri-lanka-urges/story-e6frgczf-1225796287066; Brother speaks up for ‘Alex’; Stephen Fitzpatrick; 12/11/09; http://www.theaustralian.com.au/politics/brother-speaks-up-for-alex/story-e6frgczf-1225796287303; Philippines solution to Sri Lankan asylum-seeker crisis; Paul Maley; 12/11/09; http://www.theaustralian.com.au/politics/philippines-solution-to-sri-lankan-asylum-seeker-crisis/story-e6frgczf-1225796288580;
NZ rejects Rudd Government plea on refugees
Yuko Narushima & Tom Allard; 12/11/09
New Zealand has rejected an approach from the Rudd Government to resettle some of the 78 asylum seekers refusing to leave an Australian customs boat moored off Indonesia. Indonesia has also delivered another rebuff to Australia over the stand-off, with a top military spokesman calling the Oceanic Viking an ”uninvited guest” and saying its presence undermined Indonesian sovereignty. New Zealand’s refusal to help, confirmed yesterday by its Immigration Minister, Jonathan Coleman, has added to the pressure on the Government as it tries to resolve the stand-off over the Oceanic Viking, now in its fourth week.
See: http://www.theage.com.au/national/nz-rejects-rudd-government-plea-on-refugees-20091110-i7k3.html
People smugglers get five years in jail
11/11/09
Six Indonesian fishermen have each been sentenced to five years jail for smuggling more than 150 Afghans into Australia. The men – Jamil Muhammad, Samsul Lalu, Aditia Muhamad, Faisal Muhammad, Asis and Baharuddin – appeared in the Perth District Court on Tuesday before Judge Andrew Stavrianou. The court heard the men were paid about $1,000 each to crew a vessel from Indonesia into Australian waters between April and May this year. The men normally earned less than $60 a month. In his sentencing remarks, Judge Stavrianou said that while the men were not the main organisers of the smuggling operation, their actions put lives at risk for financial gain. While they had faced a maximum 20-years jail term, they received the minimum mandatory sentence of five years.
See: http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/people-smugglers-get-five-years-in-jail-20091110-i7f0.html
Tags: Australia, Migrants & Refugees, NZ, Sri Lanka