The Guardian 28 February, 2007
Howard — international criminal (yet again)
The Howard Government is once again violating international laws protecting refugees. An unseaworthy boat carrying 85 men was intercepted by the navy and taken to Christmas Island. Although the men are seeking asylum in Australia the Howard Government is pursuing negotiations with Indonesia and Nauru to take remove them from Australian soil
Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews was forced to deny last week that the navy had attempted to repair the boat the men were on and send it back at sea, another violation of international law, the obligation to rescue lives in danger at sea.
Indonesia would be the first preference for the government because that country is not a signatory of the United Nations Refugee Convention.
With this cruel and inhumane act any chance that they would have had to lodge an application for asylum in Australia under international law will be taken from them.
Myths about asylum seekers
Asylum seekers are illegal. This is untrue. Under Australian Law and International Law a person is entitled to make an application for refugee asylum in another country when they allege they are escaping persecution. Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution".
People who arrive on our shores without prior authorisation from Australia, with no documents, or false documents are not illegal. They are asylum seekers — a legal status under international law. Many Asylum seekers are forced to leave their countries in haste and are unable to access appropriate documentation. In many cases oppressive authorities actively prevent normal migration processes from occurring. "Illegals" are people who overstay their visas. The vast majority of these in Australia are from western countries, including 5,000 British tourists.
Asylum seekers are queue jumpers. In countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan, there are no queues for people to jump and Australia has no diplomatic representation in these countries Therefore, there is no standard refugee process where people wait in line to have their applications considered. Few countries between the Middle East and Australia are signatories to the 1951 Refugee Convention, and as such asylum seekers are forced to continue to travel to another country to find protection.
The people in boats are terrorists. This is incorrect. Just 11 of more than 13,000 who sought asylum in Australia recently were rejected on "character grounds". Only one was regarded as a security risk because of suspected terrorist links. He had come by air, not by boat. Government intelligence briefings concerning the threat of terrorist attacks have not mentioned asylum seekers. There remains no evidence that any asylum seekers who arrived by boat had any connection to terrorism.
Those who perpetrated the September 11 attacks did not arrive in the United States as asylum seekers. They flew first class with valid papers. The people coming here in the boats are fleeing persecution in their countries. People fleeing oppression have a right to claim asylum and have those claims assessed.