LEAD EDITORIAL IN CANADA'S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER, THE
GLOBE AND MAIL
30 AUGUST
"MEMO TO JOHN HOWARD: DO THE DECENT THING"
When the distress call came on Sunday from Australia's
Rescue Co-ordination Centre, Captain Arne Rinnan of
the Norwegian freighter Tampa did what any sailor -
indeed, any human being - should have done. He
changed course, steered his ship toward a sinking
Indonesian vessel and rescued more than 400
passengers.
His selflessness has placed Mr Rinnan at the centre of
a bitter diplomatic row. The passengers were the
latest in a steady flow of desperate migrants fleeing
Afghanistan and several other war-torn Asian countries
to seek a new life in Australia. For years, Australia
has allowed such people to land, considered their
claims to refugee status under international law, and
accepted most of them as permanent residents. But now
it has had a sudden change of heart and is wrangling
with Indonesia, Norway and the united Nations over who
should take the migrants in.
Prime Minister John Howard sent troops to board the
Tampa off Chrismas Island and prevent it from dropping
anchor. He plans to introduce retroactive legislation
to justify his action. He says he cannot allow "a
situation where for practical prposes we lose control
of our capacity to determine who comes to this country
and in what circumstances".
All very persuavive, were it not for the timing. Mr
Howard is expected call an election this fall. Opinion
polls indicate his Liberal-National coalition will be
hard-pressed to retain its slender parliamenatry
majority. The right-wing, anti-immigration party One
Nation has done well in state elections. Australians
are said to be fed up with the cost of processing
asylum seekers. It looks very much as if Mr Howard is
trying to staunch an outflow of votes as much as an
influx of immigrants.
We prefer Mr Rinnan's instincts. Common decency, a
quality we believe is still prized in Australia,
requires Mr Howard to set aside his electoral worries
and drop his hard line. Having asked the Captain to
save the migrants, Austrlian cannot how turn its back
on them. Not only would that be unconscionable, but
it would encourage mariners to ignore future distress
calls, thus imperilling the lives of future shipwreck
victims. The Tampa's passengers should be allowed to
land, and be dealt wth in the same manner as other
undocumented immigrants.
That's the easy part of this sad affair. But what of
the fresh boatloads of asylum seekers that will surely
continue to arrive? Reports from the region tell of
"travel agents" who smuggle migrants from Afghanistan,
Iraq, Sri Lanka and other countries through Iran,
Malaysia and the Indonesian archipelago to Christmas
Island and Ashmore Reef, another sea swept Australian
territory. There are simiilarities with the arrival
of smuggled Chinese off Canada's West Coast, but there
is one important difference. The West Asisans are far
more likely to be fleeing genuine persecution, giving
them a claim to refugee status under international
law.
Over the past 35 years, Australia has shed its "White
Australia" immigration policy, shouldered its
international obligations and accepted tens of
thousands of refugees from world trouble spots. It
should continue to do so, and should be applauded for
it. Morevoer, since most refugee claims -
particularly from Afghans and Iraqis - are approved in
the end, it should recondiser its costly policy of
automatically detaining asylum seekers in isolated
camps until their cases are heard.
The rest of the world has responsibilities too,
Afghanistan's Taliban and Iraq's Saddam Hussein are
unlikely to change their despotic, refugee-producing
policies any time soon. Wealthy Countries, however,
might consider taking more refugees for settlement
under United Nations auspices, and they should make
sure humanitarian aid is being provided at levels
appropriate to the suffering of innnocent peoples.
Undoubtedly there is also room for closer co-operation
from the countireis along the asylum trail -
Indonesia, in particular - in fighting the lucraticve
people-smuggling trade.
But the central principle in dealing with suffering
must continue to be compassion. In that respect, Mr
Rinnan has shown the way.
--
Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/
Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop
Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink
Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
