Tamil Justice

Tuesday March 8, 2010
Refugee Action Coalition
Ian Rintoul
phone 0417 275 713

150 Days at Merak: Protests Call to Resettle the Refugees, End the Indonesia Solution

Protests in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and London on Wednesday 10 March will mark the 150th day of the asylum boat stranded at Merak and coincide with the Indonesian President Yudhoyono’s visit to Australia.

Refugee advocates and representatives of the Tamil communities are calling on the Australian and Indonesian governments to end the misery of the Tamil asylum seekers at Merak. The asylum seekers – among them 109 UNHCR certified refugees – have been stranded at Merak for five months.

If they had been allowed to come to Christmas Island their refuge determination process would be completed. Some of them would be probably already be living in the Australian community,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition

“There is no future for them in Indonesia. The detention centres are full. It seems the Indonesian government has nowhere to accommodate them even if they would get off the boat. UNHCR processing can take years, with no guarantee of re-settlement to a third country. There is no incentive for them to leave the boat until there is a guarantee of re-settlement.

“A long term solution for a humane regional refugee policy must include an agreement with Indonesia for the processing and re-settlement of refugees. Although Australia is the only signatory to the Refugee Convention in the region and the only re-settling country, Australia took only 32 UNHCR refugees from Indonesia last year.

“Until there is an agreement that deals with resettlement, asylum seekers will be a source of tension between the two countries. Simply paying for Indonesia to effectively out-source Australian detention centres is only making the situation worse.

Australian government Ministers and the Prime Minister have publicly states that Australia will play a role in resettling refuge from Merak after UNHCR processing. So has the US State Department. But so far Australia has avoided giving any specific undertaking to Indonesia regarding re-settlement.

“The Merak refugees are the meat in the sandwich. The Indonesian government can act immediately to immigration verify and allow UNHCR processing to begin while the Tamils are still on board. The ball will then be in Australia’s court to commit to resettling the Merak people,” said Rintoul.

** The Sydney protest will be held, Wednesday 10 March, 12.30pm at 70 Philip Street, City. Speakers will include representatives from the Tamil community.

** A delegation of refugee advocates and Tamil community representatives (including Sara Nathan, who was deported from Indonesia in January following a humanitarian mission to the Merak boat) will deliver a letter for the Indonesian president to the Sydney Indonesian consulate at 236 Maroubra Rd, Maroubra, 10.30am Thursday 11 March.

For more information, contact Ian Rintoul 0417 275 713

PR Refugee Action Coalition – Mass Tamil Asylum Seeker Protest Hits Christmas Island

In scenes reminiscent of the early protests that rocked Woomera, Port Hedland and Baxter, under the Howard government, a mass protest by Tamil detainees at Christmas Island began at 4.30pm Christmas Island time, on Thursday, 27 January.

The protest is supported by all the Tamils detainees but, “We are hopeful that the Kurdish, Iranians and Arabs people will join us,” a Christmas Island detainee told the Refugee Action Coalition.

At 4.30 around 60 asylum seekers began marching around the path inside the detention with placards saying, “How Long Do we have to wait’, “Oceanic Viking 6 weeks, Christmas Island 6 months”, and “Protection Not Detention.”

The protest coincides wit h the visit to the island by Senator Fielding and Opposition spokesperson on immigration, Scott Morrison.

“People are sick and tired of waiting so long for their the applications to be processed. There are scores of Tamils now who have been waiting for six months and much longer. The government has no explanation for why Tamil asylum seekers are having to wait so long. As their placard says, processing on the Oceanic Viking was done in six weeks, ” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition.

“They are also angry at the people being charged for last year’s so-called riot and being put into the Red Compound management units.

“Australian of the year, Professor Patrick McGorry, was right when he called detention centres ‘factories for mental illness’ Perhaps Julia Gillard and Chris Evans will face up to the fact that Christmas Island is just as much a mental illness factory as Woomera or Baxter.

“There is no adequate torture and trauma counseling available and medication of the detainees is increasing. A government with a humane policy towards asylum seekers would close Christmas Island,” said Ian Rintoul.

There will be more protests in the days ahead. The detainees said they will maintain their protest “until we get answers.”

The protest also comes after detainees were told that under a new rule, management would no longer allow detainees to have mobile phones. Detainees in mainland detention centres are allowed to have mobile phones, and Christmas Island detainees have been allowed to have phones for months.

Meanwhile, it is expected that the two Australian refugee activists detained by Indonesian immigration authorities will return to Australian on Saturday morning. Tamil community activist, Sara Nathan will arrive in Sydney (Flight QF 042) at 7.40am. She will be available for media comment/interview at the airport.

For more information contact Refugee Action Coalition Ian Rintoul 0417 275 713

Green Left Weekly (23/01) – 100 days and counting

by Aaron Roden

On January 18, the 250 Tamil asylum seekers in Merak, Indonesia, had spent 100 days on their boat in appalling conditions. This is despite almost half of them being already recognised by the United Nations as refugees.

A global day of protest was held in solidarity with them, and against the Australian government’s “Indonesia solution”.

The refugees have refused to get off their boat — fearing imprisonment in Indonesia or deportation to Sri Lanka — after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd last year personally requested that their boat, en route to Australia, be intercepted by Indonesian authorities.

Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition (RAC), said: “International protests have put the Rudd government on notice that the world is watching what happens to the asylum seekers at Merak. More

Green Left Weekly (23/01) – Christmas Island detainees charged

by Jay Fletcher

Eleven men detained in the Christmas Island detention centre have been charged and appeared in court on January 20 over a fight that broke out among 150 asylum seekers on November 21. They were remanded until a later date.

The conflict was sparked between Hazara refugees from Afghanistan and Tamil and Sinhalese refugees from Sri Lanka, reportedly over the use of a communal pool table.

Ian Rintoul from the Refugee Action Collective told ABC Online on January 20 that attention should be focused on adverse conditions inside the centre, such as overcrowding and the anxiety caused by seeing others forcibly deported.

“It just seems to me to be entirely vindictive that the Federal Police and the government are pursuing the asylum seekers for a fight that was really created by conditions inside the detention centre”, he said. More

Refugee Action Coalition Media Release – Christmas Island Tamil detainees Protest over slow processing

Over 400 Tamil asylum seekers at Christmas Island have begun a protest boycott of activities inside the detention centre as the first part of a protest against long term detention and the slowness of refugee processing on the island.

The detainees are boycotting the gym, internet, and library services and as of Monday began boycotting the canteen.

Processing of Tamil applications is notoriously slow with many people left waiting over six months for an answer to their applications. In particular the protest is focusing on the fate of a boat load of 196 Tamils that arrived in June 2009.

Of the 196 Tamils, 112 have received visas but 78 are still waiting after six months.  None of another boat of 78 Tamils that arrived in mid August has received a visa, after waiting for over five months.

The waiting period is well outside the 90 day self-imposed Immigration department for processing applications on the mainland.

“How long do we have to wait? We are too long waiting. Our families have problems. We have too many problems,” one detainee told the Refugee Action Coalition by phone form the detention centre.

The protest has won a meeting between DIAC and Tamil detainees that has been scheduled for Wednesday morning Christmas Island. The boycott of activities has been suspended pending the outcome of that meeting.

“If the answer is not satisfactory, we will start more protests,” the Refugee Action Coalition was told.

“There is no good reason that it is taking so long for Tamil asylum applications to be processed,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition. “All of the Oceanic Viking Tamil asylum seekers were processed within six weeks. The Tamils are victims of Labor maintaining a policy of off-shore processing –part of Kevin Rudd’s Indonesia solution.

“Detention on Christmas Island is a nightmare. The effects of long term detention are already well-established. The vast majority of Tamils are being found to be refugees.

“The Immigration Minister claims that government policy humane towards asylum seekers. But there is nothing humane about long term detention. Christmas Island is a disgraceful monument to the anti-refugee policies of the Howard era. It is time it was closed. Asylum seekers should be allowed to live in the community while their applications are being processed.”

For more information contact Refugee Action Coalition, Ian Rintoul 04176 275 713

Press Release: Refugee Action Coalition (21/12) – Serious concerns for Merak Refugees

Ian Rintoul, Refugee Action Coalition

Merak, Indonesia

Sunday December 20, 12:00pm WST

Four Arrested Going To Hospital

Refugee activists have welcomed the news that all Oceanic Viking refugees are being released and re-settled.

“The speedy processing and re-settlement has shown that is not necessary for refugees to wait months and years in Indonesia,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition.

But refugee activists have serious concerns for the fate of another four Merak refugees arrested last Tuesday night.

“Now the Rudd government must put in place proper processing for all asylum seekers in Indonesia. The attention on the Oceanic Viking has left other refugees’ lives in jeopardy,” said Ian Rintoul.

On Tuesday 15 December, four of the Merak asylum seekers left the wharf area with an Indonesian doctor to get medical treatment. Three others went to get clothing which is increasingly short supply on the boat.

The four asylum seekers and the doctor were arrested by the Indonesian police and taken to the Indonesian navy office in Merak. Two of the refugees have UNHCR refugee cards.

The doctor was released after questioning. The four asylum seekers were threatened with deportation by the navy officer in charge and have now been moved to Indonesian Immigration Head Office in Jakarta where they are being held in custody.

The doctor has been subject to further questioning and a further police inquiry is scheduled for Monday, 21 December. Indonesian human rights activists are attempting to gain access and provide legal support for the detainees.

There are serious concerns for the fate of those recently arrested.

Seven of eight Tamils who voluntarily left the Merak boat in November are in immigration detention in Jakarta and have not been seen by the UNHCR.

One of those asylum seekers who went back to Sri Lanka on 26 November after news that his mother was seriously ill. He was arrested at Colombo airport when he returned and has been kept incommunicado.

Since then Sri Lankan police have shot dead one Tamil asylum seeker on the beach in Sri Lanka as he was preparing to board a refugee boat.

“It is too dangerous for people to be returned to Sri Lanka. The Merak asylum seekers are the Rudd government’s responsibility. It was Kevin Rudd’s call to the Indonesian president that stopped the boat. The Merak boat people are no different to the people on the Oceanic Viking.

“The Rudd government must work on an Australian solution, not the Indonesian solution. The Indonesian solution is a recipe for more misery and mistreatment with no certain outcome for the people detained. The Rudd government must insist that IOM provide the necessary humanitarian support for the Merak boat. Australia funds IOM but denying the Merak people assistance is creating a humanitarian crisis on the boat itself,” said Ian Rintoul.

Press Release: 17 November 2009

Appeal to the Australian Government from Merak Asylum Seekers – Government Must Act

The asylum seekers on the boat at Merak have issued an appeal to the Australian government. The statement dictated to the Refugee Action Coalition from the ship is printed below.

“Following the negotiations with the 78 people on the Oceanic Viking, the government must now act to assist the asylum seekers at Merak,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition.

“It was Kevin Rudd’s phone call that stopped them. It is time for Kevin Rudd to face up to his responsibilities. They should be brought to Australia and their refugee claims processed here. It is quite obvious that Indonesia cannot guarantee their safety. It is also obvious that with adequate resources and Australian guarantees, asylum seekers in Indonesia can be processed between four and six weeks.

“If Kevin Rudd really wants to put an end the dark days of children behind razor wire, It’s time to end the Indonesian Solution,” said Ian Rintoul.

For more information: Ian Rintoul 0417 275 713

Statement from Merak Asylum Seekers

To the Australian government and people: The asylum seekers at Merak need urgent humanitarian assistance

Thirty eight days ago, the Australian prime minister made a phone call to the Indonesian president SBY. No-one knew at the time that the phone call would make history and change the lives of people fleeing persecution and torture.

Now many people of those people are suffering. Twenty seven women hold 31 nutritionally deprived children who are losing weight. The men on the boat are desperately trying to keep the heavy rain out of the ship. But it is a losing battle.

Many people in Australia will recognize our situation because they know other refugees or have faced similar circumstances, having the same fears and fleeing the same dangers.

Seventy-eight people on the Oceanic Viking have been given a chance of security and hope for the future.

It is hard to keep our hopes alive, but we still hold on to the belief that there will be justice for us.

One hundred and nine people on the boat have UNHCR refugee status. Another 24 have UNHCR letters stating they are in the final stages of refugee determination. Our situation grows more serious each day.

The Indonesian government has restricted access by the media and other support agencies to the port area. The International Organisation of Migration has now abandoned us. We are without proper medical care. Many people on the boat are getting sick. Pneumonia, fever and diarrhoea are just some of the sickness we are dealing with. We have had to use our own money to pay for ambulances to transport sick and unconscious people to hospital.

There are reports that those of us without UNHCR ID’s may be deported to Sri Lanka by the Indonesian government. The human rights abuses by the Sri Lankan government against Tamils continues. Deportation to Sri Lanka would put us in certain danger and would be a fundamental breach of the Refugee Convention.

The Australian government can ensure our safety. We are not on an Australian boat, but we are the same as the 78 on the Oceanic Viking. We are refugees and should be treated equally.

Signed by 250 asylum seekers at Merak
17 November 2009

PERTH – 12.30pm, Mon 9 Nov

Office of Chris Evans (Immigration Minister), 51 Ord Street, West Perth

(This action has been organised by the newly reformed Refugee Rights Action Network. Next meeting: 6.30pm, Mon 9 Nov, Moon Cafe, cnr William & Newcastle Sts, Northbridge.)

MEDIA RELEASE from Refugee Action Coalition

Bring the Sri Lankan asylum seekers to Australia.

REFUGEE GROUPS REJECT SRI LANKAN GOVERNMENT ALLEGATIONS AGAINST “ALEX”

Refugee groups have condemned the statements from the Sri Lankan government alleging that Alex is a people smuggler. “It is the Sri Lankan government and the Australian government that is on trial not Alex,” said Ian Rintoul,spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition.

“These statements make it even more imperative that the Australian government bring the Tamils to Australia. How many others on the boat have the Sri Lankan government attempted to identify with the risk that their families in Sri Lanka will face further persecution.

“The Sri Lankan government is trying to hide its shocking record of human rights abuses. It is the Sri Lankan government that has to answer for thea buse of the rights of Tamils in Sri Lanka. It is the Australian government’s Indonesian solution that is on trial,” said Ian Rintoul,spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition

“Alex is only guilty of fighting for the rights of the250 Tamil asylum seekers on the boat at Merak. Alex should be praised for that. Whether he did or did not grow up in Canada has nothing to do with the human rights abuses in Sri Lanka today or his claim or the claims of the 250 in Merak for refugee status.

“The Sri Lankan government is attempting to intimidate Alex by publicly saying they know who he is. The Australian government must make to clear they hold the Sri Lankan government responsible for the safety of any members of his family in Sri Lanka.“

The Australian government should be sending a strong message to the Sri Lankan government by bringing the Tamil asylum seekers at Merak and those on the Oceanic Viking to Australia. Unless the Australian government delegate John McCarthy raises the human rights abuses with the Sri Lankan president, the Australian government will be complicit in the on-going abuse of Tamils in Sri Lanka. There are over 250,000 Tamils in internment camps in Sri Lanka.

“Alex has made it clear that all the 250 people are more than willing to put their refugee claims before the UNHCR or the Australian authorities.

The Australian government should be insisting that the UNHCR be allowed access to the asylum seekers and begin to process their claims.

”A rally to demand that the Tamils asylum seekers in Indonesia be brought to Australia will be held on Monday 9 November, 12.30pm, Immigration Department, Lee St, Sydney. A phone link with Alex will allow him to speak to the protest.

For more information contact Refugee Action Coalition: Ian Rintoul 0417 275713

12.30pm Monday 9 November.

Immigration Department, Lee St (Railway Square end of Central Tunnel)

Called by Refugee Action Coalition. Contact Ian on 0417 275 713

Refugee rally.pdf