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[Dead Man]

Summary: Australia has returned asylum seekers to Sri Lanka without a proper assessment of their claims. The UN has criticised this as not in line with refugee treatment conventions, and there are allegations some of the returned asylum seekers had previously been tortured in Sri Lanka before they left.

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Detail: There has been rumblings that a boat of asylum seekers was intercepted by the Australian Navy and returned to Sri Lanka in recent weeks. This has not been confirmed by Australian government sources, who have decided that only issues of importance will be divulged, and the Minister in question has asserted he decides what is important.

This has not stopped information from leaking out and attention being raised on the issue.

Australia has a recent history of helping the Sri Lankan government by opposing a war crimes investigation by the UN and gifting patrol boats the Sri Lankan Navy.

Australia opposes UN resolution to conduct war crimes inquiry in Sri Lanka

Tony Abbott confirms Bay-class patrol boats gift to Sri Lanka to combat people smuggling

Yesterday we had this gem from our PM: Tony Abbott praises Sri Lanka's human rights progress amid speculation Tamil asylum seekers were handed over to country's navy

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has described Sri Lanka as a ''society at peace'', amid mounting speculation that two boats carrying Tamil asylum seekers have been handed over to the Sri Lankan navy in the middle of the ocean.

Speaking to 3AW on Thursday morning, Mr Abbott said it was no secret that Australia was turning back boats on the high seas.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has praised Sri Lanka's progress on human rights amid mounting speculation Tamil asylum seekers will be handed over to the country.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has praised Sri Lanka's progress on human rights amid mounting speculation Tamil asylum seekers will be handed over to the country. Photo: Ken Irwin

''We said before the election that one of the policy options that we reserve the right to use, were it safe to do so, is turning boats around,'' he said.

On Wednesday, Fairfax Media revealed that 50 Sri Lankan asylum on board one boat were asked four basic questions by immigration officials via a teleconference, as part of a screening process. It is understood the asylum seekers are likely to be handed over to the Sri Lankan navy.

The questions asked included the passengers' name, country of origin, where they had come from and why they had left.

Another asylum seeker boat, which held 153 passengers who were also Sri Lankan Tamils, has since been transferred to a navy boat, after civilians lost contact with the boat on Saturday morning.

When asked whether the government was sending asylum seekers back to the country they fled from, Mr Abbott replied: ''There does need to be a process because we do have international obligations so there does need to be a process.

''But I want to make this observation, Sri Lanka is not everyone's idea of the ideal society but it is at peace . . . a horrific civil war has ended. I believe that there has been a lot of progress when it comes to human rights and the rule of law in Sri Lanka.''

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has refused to comment on the two boats – one carrying 153 asylum seekers and the other carrying 50 asylum seekers – maintaining that the government does not comment on ''speculation or reporting'' regarding on water operations.

...

Asked later on Thursday if Australians had a right to know what was happening with asylum seekers on the two boats, Mr Abbott said: ''The public deserve safe and secure borders.''

''They deserve a country that has not become open for the wrong kind of business, the people smuggling business," he told reporters in Melbourne.

"Everything we do is consistent with safety at sea and everything we do is consistent with our international obligations.

"It is a peaceful country. It is a peaceful country. I don't say it's a perfect country, not even Australia is that. But it is a peaceful country and all of us should be grateful that the horrific civil war is well and truly over and that is to the benefit of every single Sri Lankan, Tamil, Sinhalese. Everyone in Sri Lanka is infinitely better off as a result of the cessation of the war."

Despite Mr Abbott maintaining that Sri Lanka is now a society of peace, advice from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says Australians should exercise a ''high degree of caution'' due to the ''unpredictable security environment'' in the country.

''You should avoid all demonstrations and large public gatherings as they may turn violent or be a target for politically-motivated attacks. Police have used tear gas in response to protests,'' the advice on the department's website says.

''In the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, which includes Mannar, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu, Kilinochichi and Jaffna Districts, post-conflict security force activity is ongoing.''

...

According to a member of the co-ordinating committee of the Gummudipoondi camp for Tamil refugees, who were on board the boat carrying 153 asylum seekers, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, members of the Tamil Nadu police force's "Q" branch, which monitors the activities over refugee camps, had swept his camp and several others seeking information.

"They have been here asking, investigating, looking for the information," said the coordinating committee member who gave his name as William.

William said there were 17 people missing from his camp who are assumed to be aboard the vessel and that he had been in contact with the families over the past few days.

"They are extremely worried, crying, desperate for information about what has happened, pleading for some country to accept them so they do not be made to return to Sri Lanka," he said.

"They believe that if the refugees are made to return to Sri Lanka they will face severe harassment, possibly even torture, from the local authorities in Sri Lanka. Of course there is a lot of concern."

The Human Rights Law Centre has weighed in on the legal ramifications and sent a request to the UN:

AUDIO: The director of the Human Rights Legal Centre, Daniel Webb, says if the Australian Government has transferred 153 Tamil asylum seekers to Sri Lanka that would raise enormous ethical and legal questions.

Urgent UN intervention sought on missing Sri Lankan asylum seekers

The Human Rights Law Centre last night sent a request for urgent action to the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The request relates to two groups of Sri Lankan asylum seekers, including at least 37 children, who were reportedly travelling to Australia to claim protection but have not been heard from for four days after reportedly being intercepted by Australian authorities.

The Australian Government has repeatedly refused to confirm where these 200 asylum seekers now are or what it plans to do with them.

HRLC Director of Legal Advocacy, Daniel Webb, said detaining the asylum seekers on the high seas and returning them to Sri Lanka with no due process would be clear breaches of international law.

“You can’t just detain 200 people and not tell anyone. And you can’t just deliver 200 people straight back into the hands of those they claim to be fleeing. Doing so would clearly breach international law. We’ve asked the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture to take urgent action to stop this from happening,” said Mr Webb.

The Human Rights Law Centre has asked the Special Rapporteur to take urgent action to ensure the Australian Government:

discloses the whereabouts of the asylum seekers;
facilitates their communication with a lawyer; and
refrains from sending them back to Sri Lanka in breach of international law.

The UN High Commission for Refugees has spoken out against the governments actions:

Commission slams transfer at sea as clear rights breach

The United Nations has expressed ''profound concern'' over reports that Australia was poised to hand Sri Lankan asylum seekers back to the country's navy on Thursday after only the briefest refugee assessment.

For the first time, the Sri Lankan government confirmed that failed asylum seekers would be switched straight onto its navy ships at sea, even as the Australian government dug in on its hardline refusal to provide any information.

Fairfax Media confirmed that refugee assessments of the more than 200 Sri Lankans trying to reach Australia on two separate boats have been cut back to four questions, prompting dire warnings by international law experts that Australia risked breaching international obligations.

In a rare statement, the UN High Commission for Refugees said the organisation viewed ''with profound concern recent reports in the media and from the community in relation to the interception at sea of individuals who may be seeking Australia's protection''.

The organisation stressed that ''requests for international protection should be considered within the territory of the intercepting state, consistent with fundamental refugee-protection principles.

It added that asylum seekers should be ''properly and individually screened for protection needs'' through a ''through a substantive and fair refugee status determination procedure''.

Keheliya Rambukwella, Sri Lanka's Media and Information Minister, said a transfer at sea would take place. ''They will be accepted and received by the [Sri Lankan] navy and the normal procedures will take place from there onward,'' he said.

Fairfax Media can reveal that the number of questions being asked of the Sri Lankans to establish whether they are genuine refugees has been slashed fivefold - from 19 to just four - a move that has drawn heavy fire from international-law experts.

This was just tweeted by one of our Federal Senators: https://twitter.com/leerhiannon/status/484937990913806337

 

[Dastardly Jerks]

Absolutely disgusting... Sending refugees back into the meat grinder they're escaping from is beyond barbaric.

 

[Omikron]

Our country is shameful at present. The way "boat people" and refugees are being politicised drives me to distraction.

 

[slit]

What's up with Australian gov't acting like absolute pricks lately?

 

[Fusebox]

We don't comment on ongoing naval operations we don't comment on ongoing naval operations we don't comment on ongoing naval operations.

This is the stupid ass Govt we deserve.

 

[Transhuman]

What's up with Australian gov't acting like absolute pricks lately?

If by lately you mean the last few years, not much.

 

[devilhawk]

Absolutely disgusting... Sending refugees back into the meat grinder they're escaping from is beyond barbaric.

Agreed. Though, when it is on the order of dozens or hundreds it is easier to think that.

What happens when it is over 50,000 children where you have no idea about the location or status of the parents?

 

[A Fish Aficionado]

.

 

[lexi]

Obama save us. Send military intervention. You will be greeted as liberators for real this time.

 

[mjontrix]

What's up with Australian gov't acting like absolute pricks lately?

Australia is open for business - if you have no money Australia is closed.

 

[Dead Man]

Obama save us. Send military intervention. You will be greeted as liberators for real this time.

As long as we can still eat chicken while watching the Windies play here, I will agree with that

 

[wonzo]

#fairgo

 

[Yrael]

Even under the former government, the UN found Australia guilty of more than 150 human rights violations when it comes to the treatment of asylum seekers:

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-polit...gees-human-rights-un-says-20130822-2sdxq.html

It's disgusting beyond measure that Abbott's government is doubling down so heavily on the unethical treatment of people who seek safety here...even to the extent of proudly advertising the terrible conditions of refugee camps to deter the persecuted from fleeing their country by boat to Australia.

 

[vanty]

What's up with Australian gov't acting like absolute pricks lately?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Australian_election

 

[CPS2]

What's the latest on the possibility of an early election?

 

[Yagharek]

What's the latest on the possibility of an early election?

Does it matter when the election is? Both the major parties support this.

 

[lexi]

This is another government sponsored human tragedy on the level of the Stolen Generation.

It's happening right now in a civilised 1st world country in 2014 and nobody cares.

 

[IncandescentPrecept]

Is there a list of countries from where refugees are accepted?

 

[bobnowhere]

Can someone stop this country, I want to get off.

 

[Yrael]

Our country is shameful at present. The way "boat people" and refugees are being politicised drives me to distraction.

Ditto. I despise the term "boat people" so much. It's incredibly dehumanising.

 

[Cheesecakebobby]

As I understand it, Australia has a pretty fucked up immigration policy, but surely there are plenty of safe countries closer to Sri Lanka? Don't they also bear some responsibility to take in refugees? One of the things I hate the most about my host nation, Japan, is how it shirks its responsibility as a developed nation to accept those fleeing persecution

 

[munchie64]

Disgusting. Will almost certainly continue this way too, and there's so very little we can do about it :/

 

[Dead Man]

As I understand it, Australia has a pretty fucked up immigration policy, but surely there are plenty of safe countries closer to Sri Lanka? Don't they also bear some responsibility to take in refugees? One of the things I hate the most about my host nation, Japan, is how it shirks its responsibility as a developed nation to accept those fleeing persecution

None of that absolves Australia. Some closer countries are not signatories to the UN Convention, or have no process at all. Some of these Tamils have been held in India awaiting assessment for years with no progress, with the Indian authorities threatening to deport them back to Sri Lanka.

There are not a lot of safe countries between here and there. If you are seeking asylum from Sri Lanka you have to get on a boat, and either go through Africa, the Middle East, or Asia. Indonesia has a massive backlog just to make the initial claim of asylum. Many other places are similar. The Middle East has millions of internal refugees to take care of, as does Africa.

 

[Lord Panda]

It's disgraceful. Scott Morrison is a cold-blooded unfeeling son of a bitch.

 

[jgminto]

It makes me ashamed of my country. There really needs to be some outside intervention, it's abhorrent and unethical.

 

[TJP]

What's up with Australian gov't acting like absolute pricks lately?

I believe this book summarises the situation nicely, especially the quotation on the cover:

I nicked this from Leigh Sales' Twitter account: https://twitter.com/leighsales/status/475413928650891265

 

[Arksy]

I just saw Shorten's comments...."We would do the exact same thing, but it wouldn't be as shitty if we did it."

 

[MooseKnuckles]

This is an absolute disgrace, and as a nation we should be fucking ashamed of ourselves for allowing the 'boat people' issue to become politicised to the point that these abuses can occur as part of official government policy.

It is just pure cruelty.

 

[Dead Man]

I just saw Shorten's comments...."We would do the exact same thing, but it wouldn't be as shitty if we did it."

Shorten is just as pathetic as opposition leader as I feared. Utter coward.

 

[Dryk]

What's the latest on the possibility of an early election?

Doesn't matter, this shit has bipartisan support as well as the support of people in crucial seats. I've seen just as many "keep up the good work, mate" comments on this as "wtf are you doing?"

 

[Lafiel]

Doesn't matter, this shit has bipartisan support as well as the support of people in crucial seats. I've seen just as many "keep up the good work, mate" comments on this as "wtf are you doing?"

The worst part is if I can recall back around the 00s when Kevin Rudd was in power the labor party had a policy change or change-of-heart regarding the whole asylum seeker issue.. that is until they reverted right back to the old policy of dehumanising refugees around the time they introduced the PNG solution just so they don't appear "soft" on the refugees during the election campaign. So fucking disgraceful.

 

[IncandescentPrecept]

Can someone stop this country, I want to get off.

Do you really?

 

[Marvel]

I just saw Shorten's comments...."We would do the exact same thing, but it wouldn't be as shitty if we did it."

wow.

 

[Arksy]

The worst part is if I can recall back around the 00s when Kevin Rudd was in power the labor party had a policy change or change-of-heart regarding the whole asylum seeker issue.. that is until they reverted right back to the old policy of dehumanising refugees around the time they introduced the PNG solution just so they don't appear "soft" on the refugees during the election campaign. So fucking disgraceful.

The day Rudd was deposed he was saying that he wouldn't "lurch to the right" on Refugees. The day after, Gillard was talking about offshore processing again and how it wasn't racist to be talking about Asylum Seekers.

Both parties are complicit in this sort of bullshit. It's our greatest modern shame.

 

[bomma_man]

The thing is too, both parties do it because it is popular. Public opinion sits between "who cares?" and "line them up an shoot them". There is little actual anger about this, and it's an indictment of the Australian people.

 

[reptilescorpio]

This was really heartbreaking to read this week too

Some of the 71 babies have already been sent to Christmas Island, while the same fate awaits others who are still in Australia

Maurice Blackburn principal, Jacob Varghese, said his firm was working with the families of 71 babies, but that there could be others. He said the families had “no idea” what the future held for them.

“They’re all very anxious, stressed, traumatised, and a lot of them are having psychiatric issues with postnatal depression,” he said, adding that on Christmas Island they were put in cramped conditions with shared bathrooms, and had to battle mice, heat rash, and local insects including mosquitoes and a poisonous giant centipede.

A spokesman for Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said it had “always been Coalition policy to apply offshore processing universally”

The Advertiser revealed last week that up to eight families, including 11 babies and children who were living at Inverbrackie detention centre in the Adelaide Hills, were woken at 3am to board a plane to Christmas Island.

This hilarious gaffe by our PM will keep people laughing and preoccupied (lol) enough to continue ignoring how asylum seekers are treated.

I guess our country owes its existence to a form of foreign investment by the British government in the then unsettled or, um, scarcely settled, Great South Land

 

[Dryk]

The thing is too, both parties do it because it is popular. Public opinion sits between "who cares?" and "line them up an shoot them". There is little actual anger about this, and it's an indictment of the Australian people.

I very quickly realised over the last few election cycles that the ideal of the Australian people we've been fed since birth is a complete lie. It's a pity that politicians, journalists and the general public haven't caught on yet.

 

[obin_gam]

You dont have to feel ashamed Australia. Sweden also does this on a regular basis.

 

[jgminto]

This was really heartbreaking to read this week too

This hilarious gaffe by our PM will keep people laughing and preoccupied (lol) enough to continue ignoring how asylum seekers are treated.

It's obviously not the same thing but this reminds me of the Stolen Generation. No child should have to go through anything like that.

 

[bomma_man]

It's obviously not the same thing but this reminds me of the Stolen Generation. No child should have to go through anything like that.

Hopefully it'll be remembered in the same way. Shame that nobody seemed to learn its lessons.

 

[toastyToast]

The thing is too, both parties do it because it is popular. Public opinion sits between "who cares?" and "line them up an shoot them". There is little actual anger about this, and it's an indictment of the Australian people.

It's pretty disgusting.

 

[reptilescorpio]

You dont have to feel ashamed Australia. Sweden also does this on a regular basis.

I would prefer it if both nations would be ashamed at this kind of behaviour to be honest.

 

[Arksy]

You know what kind of pisses me off, this is one area that I've actually written two letters to our immigration minister about, and one that I'd broadly agree with the soft left on...but god damn it's annoying how the Green's voted the Malaysian people swap down on the basis that all offshore processing was bad (and the Liberals did it because it was a Labor policy, even though at the time they were like "LOL HUMAN RIGHTS") It would've 'stopped the boats' and was actually a fairly humanitarian way of doing it...as opposed to sending people who flee war torn countries to the bastion of civilisation known as Cambodia..or in this case straight into the hands of their torturers.

 

[lexi]

You may have resigned your membership from the LNP or whatever Arksy but you still know how to blame the greens for everything like a bonafide member. I believe the Malaysian solution was also voted down by the High Court, I suppose that can tangentially be related to the greens somehow.

 

[Dead Man]

You know what kind of pisses me off, this is one area that I've actually written two letters to our immigration minister about, and one that I'd broadly agree with the soft left on...but god damn it's annoying how the Green's voted the Malaysian people swap down on the basis that all offshore processing was bad (and the Liberals did it because it was a Labor policy, even though at the time they were like "LOL HUMAN RIGHTS") It would've 'stopped the boats' and was actually a fairly humanitarian way of doing it...as opposed to sending people who flee war torn countries to the bastion of civilisation known as Cambodia..or in this case straight into the hands of their torturers.

I think you'll find the LNP was at least as responsible, if they had voted in favour it would have gone through.

Not familiar with the details of that plan though. I am opposed to all offshore processing on principle however.

 

[Arksy]

You may have resigned your membership from the LNP or whatever Arksy but you still know how to blame the greens for everything like a bonafide member.

Heheh....I'm pretty sure I've had a go at all three parties in here (check, check and check!). I don't "blame" the Greens for our mess...it's not their doing. It's just that we had a pretty good opportunity for a moderate solution and the Greens didn't want to compromise. That's their right, but doesn't mean I can't be upset by it.

I think you'll find the LNP was at least as responsible, if they had voted in favour it would have gone through.

Not familiar with the details of that plan though. I am opposed to all offshore processing on principle however.

In broad strokes, people who come by boat from the refugee camps in Malaysia would be "swapped" for those waiting patiently...thus completely removing any incentive to come to Australia through people smugglers. I think processing under this plan would've occurred in Malaysia, but not entirely sure.

And yes, the fact that the Liberals opposed the plan on the grounds that Malaysia's human rights record wasn't very good is now hysterical.

 

[Arksy]

Oops!

 

[Dead Man]

In broad strokes, people who come by boat from the refugee camps in Malaysia would be "swapped" for those waiting patiently...thus completely removing any incentive to come to Australia. I think processing under this plan would've occurred in Malaysia, but not entirely sure.

Eh, still seems quite punitive on new arrivals. Waiting patiently? That is awfully close to the queue jumping rhetoric, when there is no queue. The convention says to go to a safe country and apply there. If they first apply in Australia, that is where they should be processed. I would be all for increasing funding for Malaysia's refugees though

 

[DJKhaled]

What's up with Australian gov't acting like absolute pricks lately?

Because right-wing jackass' are in charge.

If by lately you mean the last few years, not much.

Labor had crap asylum seeker policies, but most of the other stuff they did was alright, nothing the Liberals do is even close to good.

 

[Arksy]

Eh, still seems quite punitive on new arrivals. Waiting patiently? That is awfully close to the queue jumping rhetoric, when there is no queue. The convention says to go to a safe country and apply there. If they first apply in Australia, that is where they should be processed. I would be all for increasing funding for Malaysia's refugees though

We have a legislated maximum intake, so when people talking about jumping the queue it means those who come here illegally who have to by law be processed and have their claims checked are taking a spot in that maximum intake that would otherwise have gone to someone making a 'proper application' and 'waiting patiently for their turn'. This is where that 'queue-jumping' phrase comes from.

Under this plan our intake would have increased somewhat as well.