30 August 2001
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Australia: refugees
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Kia ora,
First the Australian government banned the Norwegian freighter carrying
around 450 refugees (rescued at sea from their sinking vessel) from
entering Australian waters. Yesterday, when the captain sent out a distress
call and then moved the ship into Australian waters because of his concern
for the wellbeing of the people on board, 45 Australian Special Air Service
soldiers boarded to force the ship back out to sea.
Isn't is just fascinating how governments such as that of Australia will
happily profit from selling weapons, will fuel armed conflict, support
repressive governments and promote economic policies which put profit
before people ... but they won't accept any responsibility for the
consequences when desperate people are forced to leave their homes and
become refugees.
If you would like to let the Australian government know what you think
about this, please contact the Australian High Commission and/or Consulate
General and ask them to relay your concerns on to their government. The
contact details are:
Australian High Commission - Mr Robert Cotton, High Commissioner, PO Box
4036, Wellington; tel (04) 473 6411, fax (04) 498 7135;
Australian Consulate-General - Mr L. Doody, Consul-General, Private Bag 92
023, Auckland; tel (09) 303 2429, fax (09) 377 0798.
"Our commitment to democracy, to fundamental human rights, to freedom of
speech, freedom of the press, and the independence and authority of the
rule of law must not be compromised. "
John Howard, Australian Prime Minister, 'Australia's International
Relations - Ready for the Future', speech transcript, 22 August 2001.
Note: if you are receiving this overseas, the contact details are for Aotearoa.
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Peace Movement Aotearoa
the national networking peace organisation
PO Box 9314, Wellington, Aotearoa/New Zealand
Tel +64 4 382 8129 Fax +64 4 382 8173
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/
Internet Peace Gateway - http://www.peace.org.nz
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