Tamil Justice

TJ bloggers at the rally today said there was between 500-800 people at the rally

SMH – Gillard urged to act on refugee claims

Rights activists have rallied in Sydney urging Prime Minister Julia Gillard to immediately end the freeze on refugee claims for people from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.

Hundreds of protesters, including Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young and author Tom Keneally, gathered in the CBD on Saturday demanding a more humane approach to refugees.

The Refugee Action Coalition says it wants to see an end to offshore processing and the closure of detention centres.

ABC – Gillard urged to act on asylum seekers

A protest in Sydney has called on the Federal Government to act more fairly and justly in dealing with asylum seekers.

Around 150 people rallied at Sydney’s Town Hall today to urge Prime Minister Julia Gillard to close Christmas Island and end mandatory detention of refugees.

Author Thomas Keneally told the protest that a bipartisan approach needs to be reached by the country’s leaders.

“I ask all politicians of goodwill on both sides of the house to commit themselves to this cause,” he said.

“Open our gates to a reasonable degree and advance Australia not with hysteria, not with a snarl, but with fraternity.”

For immediate release – 18th June 2010

AUSTRALIAN TAMILS BACK GREENS CALL FOR UN WAR CRIMES PROBE IN SRI LANKA

Tamils for Greens is urging political support for a motion to be proposed on June 21st by Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young asking Australia to back calls for a United Nations investigation into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka.

“The United Nations, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and International Crisis Group have all called for an independent investigation into war crimes. Regrettably Australia is continuing to put its trade and economic interests with Sri Lanka before human rights” said Tamils for Greens spokesperson Nathan Sri.

The motion, to be proposed on Monday, follows a damning report by the International Crisis Group which cited evidence, including video footage and testimonies from frontline soldiers, highlighting the complicity of top ranking Sri Lankan Government and military officials in atrocities carried out during its campaign against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The report also condemned the LTTE, who were annihilated in May 2009, for its human rights abuses.

“Despite the Sri Lankan Government’s claims to the contrary, an independent inquiry into war crimes is vital in holding those responsible for the massacre of civilians. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd must start showing leadership and speak out against the injustices which last year alone, left up to 40 000 Tamils dead” said Nathan Sri.

NOTICE OF MOTION
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young
I give notice that, on Monday 21 June, I shall move:
That the Senate
(a)     Notes
i)      The recent report from the International Crisis Group on War Crimes in Sri Lanka
ii)     This report, recommends, among other things, for the United Nations to authorise an independent international inquiry into the alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka during the last year of the conflict
(b)     Calls on the Australian Government, as an active member state of the United Nations, to encourage the UN to investigate the alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka.
Tamils for Greens is a national advocacy group endorsing The Australian Greens party.

The group’s formation is a direct response to growing disenchantment within Australia’s Tamil community towards the Government and Coalition’s lack of concern regarding human rights violations in Sri Lanka and continued demonisation of refugees.

For more information or media interviews call Nathan Sri: 0418457837

tamilsforgreens@gmail.com -  www.twitter.com/tamilsforgreens – http://www.facebook.com/TamilsForGreens

SMH – Asylum seekers ‘threatened self-harm’

There are new concerns for the welfare of detainees at Sydney’s Villawood immigration detention centre after claims that two asylum seekers threatened to throw themselves onto an electric fence.

The two Syrian men, in their 20s, were angry at the length of time they had been held at the facility in Sydney’s southwest, Jamal Daoud, of Sydney-based Social Justice Network said on Monday.

The pair, said to have previously been held at Christmas Island after arriving by boat, were removed to a separate unit on Monday morning and put on 24-hour suicide watch, Mr Daoud said.

SMH (13/06) -  Baxter detention centre ‘could reopen’

The federal government has been accused of re-opening “hell hole” detention centres for asylum seekers.

Over the weekend, almost 200 asylum seekers were taken to the newly re-opened Curtin detention centre in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia.

Australian Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has warned the government may re-open South Australia’s Baxter detention centre, as it has done with Curtin.

The Age (13/06) – Plan to reopen Baxter for refugees, Greens claim

ABC (11/06) – Dalby ‘not ready’ to house asylum seekers

Brisbane Times (11/06) – Dalby detention concerns ‘blown out of all hell’

A new immigration centre could be built at the Darling Downs town of Dalby, but it is far from a sure bet, authorities said last night.

An Immigration Department spokesman said community concerns at this early stage were unwarranted.

“We have been looking in a lot of places and it is all very preliminary at this stage,” the spokesman said.

SMH – Hardline policy on asylum seekers won’t work

SMH (29/05) – Boy ‘born into captivity’ to detained asylum seekers

A BABY boy has been born to Sri Lankan asylum-seeker parents at Villawood Immigration Detention Centre. Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the birth two months ago highlighted concerns about the length of time detainees were being held.

”It’s extremely sad this baby has been born essentially into captivity and is living in captivity,” she said yesterday. ”It’s a depressing place. There’s no doubt it is a jail.”

ABC – Abbott’s asylum policy ‘cruel and evil’

The Greens have lashed out at Opposition Leader Tony Abbott for chasing the “xenophobic vote” after he announced that asylum seekers could again face processing in overseas countries under a Coalition government.

SMH - Libs back tough immigration policy: MP

The federal Liberal Party is fully behind a return to tough immigration measures last seen under the Howard government, Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison says.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott on Thursday flagged a return to the Pacific Solution and vowed to “turn back boats” as part of a raft of measures aimed at toughening up Australia’s border protection regime.

But there have been rumblings of discontent from moderate elements in the party, with sources confirming it was not taken to the party room before being announced.

Mr Morrison told AAP the party was “100 per cent behind” the policy.

He was speaking after a boat carrying 53 suspected asylum seekers was boarded by authorities at Flying Fish Cove, Christmas Island on Saturday.

“We’ve absolutely reached a tipping point and the only way to deal with this whole situation is to get at the root causes,” he told AAP.

Mr Abbott and Mr Morrison were forced to cut short a media conference on the issue on Saturday after being heckled outside Sydney’s Villawood immigration detention centre.

Members of the refugee human rights group Refugee Action Committee began shouting at the pair just seconds after the conference began, Fairfax Radio Network reported.

Meanwhile, Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has raised concerns about the length of time some asylum seekers are being held at Villawood.

She highlighted the fact that a baby boy has been born to Sri Lankan asylum seeker parents currently living in residential housing adjacent to the facility.

He was born two months ago; it is believed the baby’s mother became pregnant after arriving from Christmas Island.

Some asylum seekers arriving via Christmas Island have languished at the facility for more than a year, Ms Hanson-Young said.

“It’s extremely sad this baby has been born essentially into captivity and is living in captivity,” she told AAP after also visiting the centre on Saturday.

“It’s a depressing place. There’s no doubt it is a jail.”

She urged the federal government to speed up the asylum process so that detainees are either accepted into Australia or rejected.

A Department of Immigration spokeswoman confirmed the infant was living with his parents in residential accommodation near the centre.

It was born at a hospital and not the detention centre, the spokeswoman added.

Earlier Mr Abbott shrugged off suggestions his asylum-seeker policy was cruel, saying the Rudd government’s policy was the one that was uncompassionate.

“The cruellest thing you can do is put in place policies that encourage people smugglers to put desperate people’s lives at risk in leaky boats on the open sea,” Mr Abbott told reporters ahead of his detention centre visit.

“There is nothing compassionate about policies which encourage people to put their lives at risk and that’s the problem with the Rudd government’s policies.”

Demonstrations are planned in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney on Sunday to voice concerns about the alleged ethnic cleansing taking place in Afghanistan. A large number of recent asylum seekers are Afghans.

ABC Online – Border protection protocols failing: Greens

The Greens say there needs to be a public inquiry into how the Federal Government responds to asylum seeker boats.

Five asylum seekers are presumed to have drowned in waters north-west of Australia after the boat they were in ran out of supplies and they decided to swim for help.

SMH - MPs seek probe of asylum seekers’ deaths

by Karlis Salna

The federal government is under pressure to hold an inquiry into the deaths of five asylum seekers believed to have drowned after abandoning their stricken vessel in search of help.

There are also calls for a review of protocols for monitoring and intercepting boats after it was revealed authorities knew almost two weeks ago the boat had run out of food, fuel and water.

Five Sri Lankan men disappeared when they went for help on a makeshift raft after their boat became disabled for a second time.

Authorities have begun taking statements from the 59 survivors, including 15 children, rescued near the Cocos Islands on Saturday by a Russian merchant ship. The survivors have now been transferred to Christmas Island. More

ABC – Customs slammed over response to stricken boat

Refugee advocates say they are astounded authorities did not do more to help a stricken boat of Sri Lankan asylum seekers off the Western Australian coast.

Customs officials say they were advised the boat carrying 64 people had run out of fuel, food and water while heading to Cocos Island on April 30.

They say a passing merchant ship provided assistance and reported they were in good health and their vessel was seaworthy.

Customs spokesman Phil Mayne says the boat was expected to arrive at Cocos Island on Wednesday, but a search was launched when it failed to turn up. More

The Age – Push for missing asylum seekers inquiry

News.com.au - Sri Lankans asylum seekers ‘panicked’ after stricken boat ran out of food, water

SMH – Five Sri Lankans lost amid big sharks

News.com.au (22/04) – Limit mandatory detention of asylum seekers to 30 days, say Greens

THE Australian Greens are demanding a judicial review for the mandatory detention of asylum seekers longer than 30 days.

The party says the Rudd Government’s move to suspend the claims of some asylum seekers has brought back the old days of indefinite detention.

The Greens will introduce a Bill into Parliament that will place a 30-day limit on mandatory detention, during which health and security checks would be undertaken. If an extension is sought, the Immigration Department would be required to get approval from the courts.

Greens immigration spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young says she’s particularly concerned about the mandatory detention of children under the new rules.

“We cannot go back to the days of long-term detention on children,” she said.

There are more than 100 children at the Christmas Island detention centre.

The party also wants a federal Commissioner for Children, who would represent asylum seekers, in particular unaccompanied minors.

Senator Hanson-Young says the current arrangements present a conflict of interest.

“Currently the Immigration Minister is both the jailer and the guardian of any unaccompanied minors.”

Something posted on 10/04 on the homepage of The Greens

Suspension of Claims Breaches International Law, But Does It Breach Australia’s Discrimination Laws As Well?

Senator Hanson-Young, Greens Spokesperson on Immigration and Human Rights, says it’s already clear that the Government’s suspension of processing Sri Lankan and Afghan asylum claims is in breach of international law through the UN Refugee Convention.

“The question now is whether this is also a breach of Australia’s own Racial Discrimination Act,” Senator Hanson-Young said.

“For the Government to single out specific nationalities and exclude them from active processing of asylum claims seems like clear discrimination, but we hope the legal experts can give us an answer sooner, rather than later.

“In the meantime, we call on the Government to release its own legal advice on this new policy.

“There are also grave concerns about what this policy will mean for the detention of children.

“Why should children be detained just because they are Sri Lankan or Afghani?”

The decision to suspend claims will inevitably lead to more men, women and children being detained indefinitely. Given Christmas Island is already stretched past capacity, the Greens believe conditions at the centre will deteriorate further as a result of the suspension.

“The Commonwealth Ombudsman must conduct an urgent independent investigation of the conditions on Christmas Island. After yesterday’s announcement we cannot trust the Federal Government to do the right thing.

“This election year backflip is not just Kevin Rudd breaking his promise of ending the Howard policy of indefinite detention.

“By this decision, the Prime Minister is now clearly authorising the detention of children.”

ABC – Rudd attacked over Indonesia detention ‘chaos’

The Greens say it is unacceptable that women and children from the Oceanic Viking are being held behind bars.

Some of the Sri Lankan women say they have been locked up in a facility next to the Tanjung Pinang detention centre, which they say is like a jail.

Immigration Minister Chris Evans says the building has suitable facilities.

But Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young says they should not be in any form of detention.

“They may not be in the official detention centre but they are still being detained,” she said. More

Canberra Times – PM insists refugees had no special deal

The Federal Government and Opposition have continued to slug it out in Parliament over the controversial offer made to induce 78 Tamil asylum-seekers to leave the Australian Customs vessel Oceanic Viking. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd continued his denials yesterday that the group had been given preferential treatment, despite the timetable for assessing their refugee claims being much faster than that faced by other asylum-seekers in Indonesia or on Christmas Island.

The last of the 78 asylum-seekers left the Oceanic Viking on Wednesday and were transported to the Tanjung Pinang immigration detention centre on Bintan Island after more than a month aboard the Australian vessel. Mr Rudd has repeatedly denied knowledge of the details of the offer before it was put to the asylum- seekers, despite members of his staff being present at the cabinet committee meeting that authorised the deal and the distribution of the committee’s minutes to his office.

Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull, who attempted to censure Mr Rudd in question time yesterday, ridiculed Mr Rudd’s denials that the asylum-seekers had been offered a special deal and his claims to have known nothing of the ”fast-track access policy” before the offer was made. Mr Turnbull said the deal had ”no counterpart” and had been considered by cabinet’s Border Protection Committee precisely because it was a special deal. ”Now the Prime Minister says, of course, that he doesn’t know anything about that and that his staff didn’t advise him about this deal,” Mr Turnbull said. ”The one thing that is beyond question is that the Prime Minister’s claim that there was no special deal has been comprehensively, universally disbelieved.

”We’ve seen the most extraordinary spectacle of a prime minister looking the Australian people in the eye and unblinkingly saying black is white.” Mr Rudd said the Coalition was attempting to ”whip up a fear campaign” about asylum-seekers and border protection. ”Our policy on border protection is clear, and we’ll continue to implement it in the future,” Mr Rudd said. Meanwhile, the Papua New Guinea Government has canvassed a revival of the ”Pacific solution” as a remedy for Mr Rudd’s difficulties on the asylum-seeker issue. Papua New Guinea Foreign Affairs

Minister Sam Abal said yesterday that his Government was open to the idea of reopening the Manus Island immigration detention centre which the former Howard government used for offshore detention of asylum- seekers. ”If there is a request from Australia, our Government will consider it,” Mr Abal said. Both Papua New Guinea and Nauru received generous aid packages from the former Howard government in exchange for hosting offshore immigration detention and processing centres.

The Australian – PM’s ‘special deal’ leaves kids in lock-up

SMH – Mothers and infants behind detention centre bars

ABC – Tamil women, children behind bars in Indonesia

ABC – Rudd attacked over Indonesia detention ‘chaos’

Radio Australia – Oceanic Viking leaves Indonesia after four week stalemate