Fidel Castro

nns1400

Since stevebaby isn't around, I'll explain:

and excerpt from Amnesty International
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Inde...open&of=ENG-AUS
The ''Pacific Solution''

Australia's response to the Tampa incident illustrates what the government subsequently described as a ''deliberately tough'' approach to asylum seekers and refugees, aimed at ''attacking smuggling practices and sending the strongest possible message to smugglers and their clients [mostly asylum seekers]''.(7) The government thus intentionally treats harshly any unwelcome asylum seekers in order to deter others from trying to reach Australia with the assistance of smugglers.(8) It claims this helps maintain Australia's capacity to select recognized refugees from among those ''most in need'' overseas. However, critics argue that ''t is misleading to claim [such refugees] are the ones who happen to be at the head of a queue of persons ranked according to greatest need. They are the lucky ones in a lottery where some connection with Australia or greater compatibility with Australia usually counts for something.''(9) The Australian response to the [i]Tampa has reinforced existing trends in government policy and added new, more extreme measures.

The Tampa incident occurred at a time when international people smuggling syndicates were sending increasing numbers of asylum seekers and migrants to Australia by boat with false promises of eventual permanent residence. The smugglers exploited the fears and desperation of asylum seekers and migrants mainly from Iraq and Afghanistan, who no longer felt safe in host countries increasingly unwilling to provide care and protection. While overall arrival figures in Australia were small in comparison with other countries (4,137 people arriving in the 12 months to 30 June 2001), the Australian government was concerned about the failure of previous policies aimed at stopping their arrival.(10)

For example, the government has claimed that restricting refugee benefits in Australia and its 10-year-old practice of automatic detention of asylum seekers(11) were essential elements in an approach aimed at ''doing everything possible to fight people smuggling''(12); however, this did not discourage asylum seekers from trying to reach the country on dangerous boat trips arranged by smugglers.(13) Unlike most European countries receiving tens of thousands of asylum seekers each year, Australia's geographical situation meant that authorities were used to an average of no more than 1,000 asylum seekers arriving without visa by boat each year over the past 13 years.(14) Prime Minister Howard also suggested that detention facilities had reached capacity under Australia's mandatory detention system: ''I have to say that we are reaching a situation where our capacity physically, through detention facilities and otherwise, without massive additional expenditure to erect new facilities, that capacity is reaching the ceiling, it is reaching breaking point.''(15) This comment fails to consider whether it is necessary and appropriate to detain all asylum seekers, including for example, families with babies, who arrive without visas.

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