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IMPORTANT // Please look after your loved ones, yourself and be kind to others. If you are feeling that the world is too hard to handle there is always help - I implore you not to hesitate in contacting one of these wonderful organisations Lifeline and Beyond Blue ... and I'm sure reaching out to our PRE community we will find a way to help. T.
Boat Discussion
- Thread starter Rosy
- Start date
I wonder why all those illegal Sri Lankans want to leave? Let's give them another boat to stop them all from trying to escape.
Our support of this repugnant regime is not defendable. In the rush to "stop the boats" all we are doing is shifting the problem elsewhere or even making it worse. It is the ugly side of a policy that deals with the results and ignores the problem.
http://www.theage.com.au/world/report-to-call-for-un-probe-into-sri-lankan-war-crimes-allegations-20140204-31zhn.html
Sri Lankan security forces were responsible for the ''vast majority'' of alleged war crimes during the final months of its bloody civil war, and may have systematically destroyed mass burial sites of civilians in an apparent effort to destroy evidence, a new report has found.
The major new study examines allegations of the deliberate and indiscriminate shelling of civilians corralled into no-fire zones by the Sri Lankan government. Tens of thousands of civilians are believed to have perished.
In addition, the report by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre's [PIAC] international crimes evidence project investigates the alleged assassination of surrendering Tamil Tigers figures, including the 12-year-old son of its commander, Balachandran Prabhakaran.
The rape and torture of civilians and the alleged shelling of a hospital and refusal to distribute food and medicines to civilians were also probed, along with the alleged use of civilians as human shields and child soldiers by the rebel Tamil Tigers, or Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
In all cases, the report finds there is credible evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity and urges the UN to formally investigate the allegations after two UN resolutions for the Sri Lankan government to address them led to little action.
''Although violations were committed by both sides, the evidentiary material indicates that members of the Sri Lankan security forces perpetrated the vast majority of alleged crimes during the investigation period [September 2008 to May 2009],'' it said.
Sri Lanka's government, which routed the Tamil Tigers, flatly denies any wrong-doing and is resisting an international investigation likely to be put forward as a resolution by the US to the UN Human Rights Council next month. An investigation could ensnare some of Sri Lanka's most senior government and military officials, and lead to prosecutions.
The report, titled Island of Impunity? and released on Wednesday, uses forensic analysis of photographs, satellite imagery, independent military analysts and new witness accounts to probe the litany of well-aired allegations.
In a disturbing new development, it spoke to three different witnesses involved in the registration and burial of dead civilians. One of the witnesses alleges that the Sri Lankan security forces went back to the burial sites after the conflict concluded and systematically destroyed human remains.
The US is expected to recommend formal investigation by the UN but whether Australia will co-sponsor or support any resolution remains unclear. Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop did not respond to questions before deadline.
The Australian government has close ties with the Sri Lankan government, with Prime Minister Tony Abbott giving two patrol boats to its navy to intercept asylum seekers and refusing to criticise its human rights record, praising it for bringing ''more freedom and more prosperity'' at a Commonwealth leaders' meeting in Colombo in November.
At the same meeting, British Prime Minister David Cameron demanded an international investigation into the alleged war crimes.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/report-to-call-for-un-probe-into-sri-lankan-war-crimes-allegations-20140204-31zhn.html#ixzz2sO0sbEgj
Our support of this repugnant regime is not defendable. In the rush to "stop the boats" all we are doing is shifting the problem elsewhere or even making it worse. It is the ugly side of a policy that deals with the results and ignores the problem.
http://www.theage.com.au/world/report-to-call-for-un-probe-into-sri-lankan-war-crimes-allegations-20140204-31zhn.html
Sri Lankan security forces were responsible for the ''vast majority'' of alleged war crimes during the final months of its bloody civil war, and may have systematically destroyed mass burial sites of civilians in an apparent effort to destroy evidence, a new report has found.
The major new study examines allegations of the deliberate and indiscriminate shelling of civilians corralled into no-fire zones by the Sri Lankan government. Tens of thousands of civilians are believed to have perished.
In addition, the report by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre's [PIAC] international crimes evidence project investigates the alleged assassination of surrendering Tamil Tigers figures, including the 12-year-old son of its commander, Balachandran Prabhakaran.
The rape and torture of civilians and the alleged shelling of a hospital and refusal to distribute food and medicines to civilians were also probed, along with the alleged use of civilians as human shields and child soldiers by the rebel Tamil Tigers, or Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
In all cases, the report finds there is credible evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity and urges the UN to formally investigate the allegations after two UN resolutions for the Sri Lankan government to address them led to little action.
''Although violations were committed by both sides, the evidentiary material indicates that members of the Sri Lankan security forces perpetrated the vast majority of alleged crimes during the investigation period [September 2008 to May 2009],'' it said.
Sri Lanka's government, which routed the Tamil Tigers, flatly denies any wrong-doing and is resisting an international investigation likely to be put forward as a resolution by the US to the UN Human Rights Council next month. An investigation could ensnare some of Sri Lanka's most senior government and military officials, and lead to prosecutions.
The report, titled Island of Impunity? and released on Wednesday, uses forensic analysis of photographs, satellite imagery, independent military analysts and new witness accounts to probe the litany of well-aired allegations.
In a disturbing new development, it spoke to three different witnesses involved in the registration and burial of dead civilians. One of the witnesses alleges that the Sri Lankan security forces went back to the burial sites after the conflict concluded and systematically destroyed human remains.
The US is expected to recommend formal investigation by the UN but whether Australia will co-sponsor or support any resolution remains unclear. Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop did not respond to questions before deadline.
The Australian government has close ties with the Sri Lankan government, with Prime Minister Tony Abbott giving two patrol boats to its navy to intercept asylum seekers and refusing to criticise its human rights record, praising it for bringing ''more freedom and more prosperity'' at a Commonwealth leaders' meeting in Colombo in November.
At the same meeting, British Prime Minister David Cameron demanded an international investigation into the alleged war crimes.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/report-to-call-for-un-probe-into-sri-lankan-war-crimes-allegations-20140204-31zhn.html#ixzz2sO0sbEgj
I thought this was a good, and worrying, article from a Fairfax journo. Was good the security staff didn't know the difference between a delete and a hard delete! 
What is happening on Manus is "every kind of wrong" IMO.
Manus Island: How information is kept 'under control'
Date
February 25, 2014 - 8:10PM
6 reading nowComments 203 Read later
Rory Callinan
Investigative journalist
View more articles from Rory Callinan
Email Rory
The veil of secrecy on Manus Island has worrying implications for press freedom in Australia.
I have seen some censorship in my 20-plus years as a journalist reporting from Australia and various countries in the Asia Pacific region.
But what I saw on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea has made me uneasy about press freedom in the Pacific and the Australian Government's approach to reporting on the detention centre.
Last week photographer Nick Moir and I were on the island to report on the aftermath of the riot at the detention centre, which left one asylum seeker dead and about 70 injured.
Within hours of arriving, staff from G4S, the private security company employed by the Australian Government to manage the centre, had manhandled Nick, confiscated his camera and forced him to delete photographs in order to censor news.
This occurred after Nick and I visited the island's hospital more than 14 kilometres from the detention centre and supposedly under the jurisdiction of the PNG Government.
We had gone to the hospital in order to check if appropriate procedures were being taken in relation to secure the body of Reza Berati.
When we arrived at the hospital, we quickly established that G4S, whose staff are suspects in the death, were still in control of the body in the hospital morgue.
They had their own guards – PNG nationals – posted all around the morgue and were controlling access – despite the fact the hospital has its own independent security personnel.
Later, as we were about to leave the hospital and were explaining to the G4S morgue guards that we were journalists, a G4S bus carrying several injured asylum seekers arrived in the carpark.
They appeared happy to be photographed but as soon as Nick started taking shots, the G4S staff pushed Nick up against a car and took his camera.
They refused to return it despite being asked to do so by an Australian G4S employee. They also said we could not leave and had to remain at the hospital until we spoke to their boss, who would attend shortly.
When their boss, a PNG national, arrived, he yelled at Nick, telling him that he should not be taking photos. He only agreed to hand back the camera after Nick had deleted the photographs in front of him – something he did quickly and we left.
Nick was later able to recover the photographs, which were published.
Later, reports surfaced that Nick had been arrested and detained. This was plainly wrong, as it is the police who have the powers to arrest and detain – not Australian taxpayer funded private security companies - or so you would think.
The next day I was the only member of the media present when the Australian Government's riot investigator, Lieutenant-General Angus Campbell, arrived to see the cage that doubles as a jail cell at the Manus Island Police station - the same building where six asylum seekers were locked up with alleged murderers and rapists after the riots.
This time it wasn't a security guard but an Australian taxpayer-funded Immigration Department official who intervened.
As Lt-Gen Campbell and the local police commander moved to inspect the cage, the Australian Immigration official physically tried to block me from entering the space to photograph and observe the visit.
Realising that I was ignoring him, the official scuttled over to the police commander and said words to the effect that I should not be allowed to take photos.
The police commander seized my camera and phone. Later, as I waited for their return, he physically prevented me from writing in my laptop. (It should be noted that Lt Gen Campbell approached me and said he had nothing to do with the seizure of the equipment but nor did he arrange its return).
I was only able to get the items back hours later after agreeing to delete all photos from the camera and the article on the laptop about the visit. I also had to listen to a lecture from the commander about how he controlled information on the island.
The photos and the article were recovered and published.
The following day it was the ABC's turn.
The public broadcaster's PNG correspondent, Liam Cochrane, did a piece to camera with the hospital in the background.
A short time later a carload of police arrived at his hotel and ordered him and the ABC's cameraman to report to the police station. Cochrane did as asked and soon returned, saying he had been given another lecture that the police commander forbade any filming of the police station and the hospital without his permission. We joked about what would be left to film.
While all this poses something of a nuisance for Australian journalists and did not involve any severe physical violence, it represents a highly disturbing trend of censorship in a delicately poised third world country.
PNG, like many nations in the Pacific, has an enthusiastic and vibrant press but its journalists are already prone to dangerous threats and censorship.
Journalists in its highlands often get death threats or worse during election campaigns. Elsewhere others have been attacked for reporting on some of the serious crime and corruption that takes place in the country or have faced vexatious defamation claims directed at terrorising their editors into censoring critical copy.
Illegal logging is a major issue - and one of the country's two newspapers has been owned by a controversial logging company.
Now PNG authorities are learning from Australians how to restrict the press.
Reporting about police is a serious business on Manus Island. It should be remembered that some of the Mobile Squad police (not the police commander) posted to the island are themselves suspects in the killing of Mr Berati during the riot.
And that last year, officers from the same heavily armed unit beat to death a young Manus Island man in the main street.
The Australian Immigration official who sought PNG official involvement to restrict my reporting doesn't have to worry about such scenarios or the long-term impact of his actions.
For the locals it's a different story.
A free press is central to democracy in the Pacific and democracy in the region is vitally important to Australia. One only has to look to Fiji to see how badly things can go wrong.
Australian journalists grappling with a lack of information over boat arrivals is one thing. Restricting fair reporting on the ground is quite another matter.
Rory Callinan is a Fairfax Media Investigations reporter.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/comment/manus-island-how-information-is-kept-under-control-20140225-33eob.html#ixzz2uNVLR9T8
What is happening on Manus is "every kind of wrong" IMO.
Manus Island: How information is kept 'under control'
Date
February 25, 2014 - 8:10PM
6 reading nowComments 203 Read later
Rory Callinan
Investigative journalist
View more articles from Rory Callinan
Email Rory
The veil of secrecy on Manus Island has worrying implications for press freedom in Australia.
I have seen some censorship in my 20-plus years as a journalist reporting from Australia and various countries in the Asia Pacific region.
But what I saw on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea has made me uneasy about press freedom in the Pacific and the Australian Government's approach to reporting on the detention centre.
Last week photographer Nick Moir and I were on the island to report on the aftermath of the riot at the detention centre, which left one asylum seeker dead and about 70 injured.
Within hours of arriving, staff from G4S, the private security company employed by the Australian Government to manage the centre, had manhandled Nick, confiscated his camera and forced him to delete photographs in order to censor news.
This occurred after Nick and I visited the island's hospital more than 14 kilometres from the detention centre and supposedly under the jurisdiction of the PNG Government.
We had gone to the hospital in order to check if appropriate procedures were being taken in relation to secure the body of Reza Berati.
When we arrived at the hospital, we quickly established that G4S, whose staff are suspects in the death, were still in control of the body in the hospital morgue.
They had their own guards – PNG nationals – posted all around the morgue and were controlling access – despite the fact the hospital has its own independent security personnel.
Later, as we were about to leave the hospital and were explaining to the G4S morgue guards that we were journalists, a G4S bus carrying several injured asylum seekers arrived in the carpark.
They appeared happy to be photographed but as soon as Nick started taking shots, the G4S staff pushed Nick up against a car and took his camera.
They refused to return it despite being asked to do so by an Australian G4S employee. They also said we could not leave and had to remain at the hospital until we spoke to their boss, who would attend shortly.
When their boss, a PNG national, arrived, he yelled at Nick, telling him that he should not be taking photos. He only agreed to hand back the camera after Nick had deleted the photographs in front of him – something he did quickly and we left.
Nick was later able to recover the photographs, which were published.
Later, reports surfaced that Nick had been arrested and detained. This was plainly wrong, as it is the police who have the powers to arrest and detain – not Australian taxpayer funded private security companies - or so you would think.
The next day I was the only member of the media present when the Australian Government's riot investigator, Lieutenant-General Angus Campbell, arrived to see the cage that doubles as a jail cell at the Manus Island Police station - the same building where six asylum seekers were locked up with alleged murderers and rapists after the riots.
This time it wasn't a security guard but an Australian taxpayer-funded Immigration Department official who intervened.
As Lt-Gen Campbell and the local police commander moved to inspect the cage, the Australian Immigration official physically tried to block me from entering the space to photograph and observe the visit.
Realising that I was ignoring him, the official scuttled over to the police commander and said words to the effect that I should not be allowed to take photos.
The police commander seized my camera and phone. Later, as I waited for their return, he physically prevented me from writing in my laptop. (It should be noted that Lt Gen Campbell approached me and said he had nothing to do with the seizure of the equipment but nor did he arrange its return).
I was only able to get the items back hours later after agreeing to delete all photos from the camera and the article on the laptop about the visit. I also had to listen to a lecture from the commander about how he controlled information on the island.
The photos and the article were recovered and published.
The following day it was the ABC's turn.
The public broadcaster's PNG correspondent, Liam Cochrane, did a piece to camera with the hospital in the background.
A short time later a carload of police arrived at his hotel and ordered him and the ABC's cameraman to report to the police station. Cochrane did as asked and soon returned, saying he had been given another lecture that the police commander forbade any filming of the police station and the hospital without his permission. We joked about what would be left to film.
While all this poses something of a nuisance for Australian journalists and did not involve any severe physical violence, it represents a highly disturbing trend of censorship in a delicately poised third world country.
PNG, like many nations in the Pacific, has an enthusiastic and vibrant press but its journalists are already prone to dangerous threats and censorship.
Journalists in its highlands often get death threats or worse during election campaigns. Elsewhere others have been attacked for reporting on some of the serious crime and corruption that takes place in the country or have faced vexatious defamation claims directed at terrorising their editors into censoring critical copy.
Illegal logging is a major issue - and one of the country's two newspapers has been owned by a controversial logging company.
Now PNG authorities are learning from Australians how to restrict the press.
Reporting about police is a serious business on Manus Island. It should be remembered that some of the Mobile Squad police (not the police commander) posted to the island are themselves suspects in the killing of Mr Berati during the riot.
And that last year, officers from the same heavily armed unit beat to death a young Manus Island man in the main street.
The Australian Immigration official who sought PNG official involvement to restrict my reporting doesn't have to worry about such scenarios or the long-term impact of his actions.
For the locals it's a different story.
A free press is central to democracy in the Pacific and democracy in the region is vitally important to Australia. One only has to look to Fiji to see how badly things can go wrong.
Australian journalists grappling with a lack of information over boat arrivals is one thing. Restricting fair reporting on the ground is quite another matter.
Rory Callinan is a Fairfax Media Investigations reporter.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/comment/manus-island-how-information-is-kept-under-control-20140225-33eob.html#ixzz2uNVLR9T8
next time any pollie talks about stopping the 'deaths at sea', i would like to hear someone ask how many people die because they are unable to escape persecution, or even just what kind of conditions those forced back to indonesia have to live in, and whether any of those sent back have died once they return.
also to the libs how many people's lives are at risk because of their cuts to aid, and further to that their redirection of aid to suit Australian interests? and how many lives are at risk because of their cuts to the annual refugee intake?
also to the libs how many people's lives are at risk because of their cuts to aid, and further to that their redirection of aid to suit Australian interests? and how many lives are at risk because of their cuts to the annual refugee intake?
I read yesterday that 'to date' the Govt has spent $2.5 million on those big life boats, which the Indonesian Govt grabs once they make landfall.
If this policy was any more backwards it would be Kris Kross as 30 year olds trying to sing. (reference to how they used to wear their clothes backwards)
If this policy was any more backwards it would be Kris Kross as 30 year olds trying to sing. (reference to how they used to wear their clothes backwards)
I've read that total annual cost of the Manus and Nauru "solutions" is around $4 billion a year. This doesn't include the cost having our navy invading Indonesian waters on a regular basis and gifting them with $70000 orange lifeboats to keep our borders SAFE
Kon K? A lawyer with the Asylum Resource Centre,he maybe the CEO as well. Went to hear him speak. Amazing guy, and very very pro active. Got some great ideas.Azza said:
NB Id love to change the name of this thread to Refugees rather than "boat discussion"
Some ugly truths are starting to emerge about the recent tragic events on Manus. Ignoring the fact that a man died and many others were hospitalised, it looks likely that the camp was emptied of all the staff and the heavies rolled in and began to open fire. If true, this is one of the most shameful events in Australia's recent history, it just doesn't get more sadistic than this.
http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/arrests-loom-over-manus-island-killing-police-says-20140313-34pm6.html
All I can say is I'm appalled by the events on Manus. I take it that murder and institutional child abuse are now acceptable because we don't need 'wimps' running our immigration policies. I'm truly ashamed at what this country has become when dealing with asylum seekers, we can stoop no lower, the BBC reporter was right when he described these camps as a Guantanamo for refugees.
All I can say is I'm appalled by the events on Manus. I take it that murder and institutional child abuse are now acceptable because we don't need 'wimps' running our immigration policies. I'm truly ashamed at what this country has become when dealing with asylum seekers, we can stoop no lower, the BBC reporter was right when he described these camps as a Guantanamo for refugees.
This thread reads like an ABC staff dinner party. I read this, i heard that, he told me this...
Is that really true? Darn Liberal Party has wrecked everything..!
It is the narrow minded unworldly ignorance that pervades this thread that gives the Labor party it's 30% primary vote.
Only rusted ons can defend the Labor Party on this issue and tear down the Libs. Manus policy was set up by Labor, is being run and enforced by people put in place by Labor, and is full of people who arrived under Labor's watch.
You lot are a collective embarrassment - widen your reading!
Is that really true? Darn Liberal Party has wrecked everything..!
It is the narrow minded unworldly ignorance that pervades this thread that gives the Labor party it's 30% primary vote.
Only rusted ons can defend the Labor Party on this issue and tear down the Libs. Manus policy was set up by Labor, is being run and enforced by people put in place by Labor, and is full of people who arrived under Labor's watch.
You lot are a collective embarrassment - widen your reading!
