November 17, 2009

Kevin Rudd should refrain from killing asylum seekers

The deterioration of the racist and inhumane debate about the arrivals of boat people to the point of killing some of these asylum seekers is a very alarming development that needs a lot of investigation and exploring the responsible people.

It is very clear that the resort of Indonesian coastal patrol to shoot and kill asylum seekers is direct result of tremendous pressure from Australian Federal government on Indonesian government to stop the boats. This development is serious setback to promises from Rudd government to follow humane policy in this regard. It also constitutes serious violation to Australian commitments under international treaties and agreements.

The deterioration of support to Rudd’s government shown in the latest opinion polls should be considered as natural. Rudd’s government had made a lot of promises before the last election. The ordinary citizen could not feel any difference since that election on their lives, where Rudd’s government had resorted to the same tactics and policies of its regressive predecessor. The ordinary citizen’s hardships which include low government services, high inflation and expensive lifestyle and bad treatment by government’s department had not changed under the new government.

The Australians had voted n the last election for change. Now the Australians discover that they have voted for different names but for the same regressive racist policies that are impotent of helping marginalized communities to meet daily needs.

What makes it more depressing and disappointing is the lack of any progressive voice in the Federal parliament to stand up against these regressive moves. All politicians have practiced complete silence on yesterday’s crime of killing asylum seekers in cold blood. Even the small parties that claim to be progressive followed the same line of overlooking this serious setback to human rights in Australia.

The Social Justice Network condemns this inhumane crime, which is added to the long line of crimes against refugees and asylum seekers. The group demands full independent investigation to determine the responsibles, directly or indirectly, of this crime and bring them to justice.

The group also demands that Rudd’s government honour its commitments towards asylum seekers according to international treaties and agreements, especially the Geneva Convention on the status of refugees signed by Australia 1951. The group also demands that opposition from all parties to deal with this issue as humanitarian one and not as electoral issue. An issue where suffering of innocents people could be used to get more votes. We should remember that Australian participation in invading Afghanistan and Iraq had participated in creating the suffering of these people and enforced them to flee and seek asylum in different countries.

The group will continue its tireless efforts to highlight the suffering of refugees and asylum seekers by bringing it back to the front political issues in the country. The group will make the rights of refugees and asylum seekers an important issue in the next election to expose the politicians that used this issue to trade the suffering of refugees for some votes from progressive Australians.

For media comments, Jamal Daoud, the SJN spokesperson, can be contacted on 0404 47 272