Australia's domestic spy agency will soon have the power to crack people-smuggling syndicates using bases overseas as the government beefs up its border protection laws.
Beset by a steady flow of asylum-seeker boats, the government last night announced plans to extend ASIO's mandate beyond the prevention of espionage and terrorism.
The Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, the Immigration Minister, Chris Evans, and the Home Affairs Minister, Brendan O'Connor, outlined changes that would allow ASIO to investigate foreign intelligence that it was previously stopped from pursuing.
Australians who fund people-smuggling ventures, and those who seek to exploit asylum seekers and endanger lives, will face fines of up to $220,000 or 20 years' jail under the plan.
David McKnight, associate professor of journalism at the University of NSW who has written extensively about ASIO, said the changes underlined a shift in ASIO's responsibilities.
''This is quite a significant change. It highlights a trend that's pushing ASIO into the investigation of crimes rather than national security. The tendency is for ASIO to operate more like a police force.''
The government will also expand ASIO's ability to tap phones and intercept communications by allowing it to target non-state actors, such as criminal groups.
-SMH
HAZARA NEWS WESTERN AUSTRALIA
www.hazarawa.blogspot.com
Email
hazaranewswa@yahoo.com
Hazara News WA provides the latest news and updates of when it happens.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Local police chief `fooled'; migrants flee to Australia: 45 Asylum seekers from Afghanistan have fled
LATEST NEWS: 2130 WAST
Up to 41 asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Turkey fled to Australia by chartered boat after a local police chief was said to have been fooled by a telephone caller who is now suspected to have been a people smuggler.
An unidentified caller who claimed he was an official at the National Police headquarters in Jakarta ordered West Sabu Police chief First Insp. Kalansansius Dhosa to release the asylum seekers then in his custody.
The caller, now suspected to have been a member of a human trafficking ring in West Nusa Tenggara, asked the West Sabu Police to release the asylum seekers because they were about to be moved to Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara.
As the boat containing the asylum seekers arrived at the Sabu Raijua Port, it suddenly changed course and headed off in the direction of Australia.
East Nusa Tenggara Police chief Brig. Gen. Antonius Bambang Suedi confirmed the details of the escape.
"The caller is believed to have been at the port, so when the immigrants arrived, they were immediately placed on the boat to Australia," said Bambang.
"According to the explanation from the West Sabu Police chief, he was tricked into releasing the immigrants without police escort and allowing them to continue their trip to Kupang. It *then* turned out that the boat was not going to Kupang but headed instead in the direction of Australia," he added.
But the police account was challenged by a local Sabu community leader, Markus Dima, who claimed that the asylum seekers bought their freedom by bribing the police, as reported by AP.
Bambang said the fleeing group had most likely already arrived at Ashmore Island, a low-lying uninhabited Australian territory bordering Indonesia. The group of islands concerned were previously sometimes considered part of the Rote Ndao Regency of East Nusa Tenggara and have been used by traditional Indonesian fishermen.
The group of asylum seekers had entered Indonesian territory illegally because they did not have visas. They had been detained for six weeks at the police station at Sabu.
The escapees were part of a group of 55 immigrants detained on Sabu Island since Jan. 13. The other 14 are being held in Kupang.
Bambang said he had asked police at the Sabu Raijua Port to hold the immigrants until immigration authorities arrived, but they were cheated by an unidentified caller. "We will examine the West Sabu Police chief," he said.
Before fleeing, the illegal boat people had reportedly threatened to commit suicide if forced to move to Kupang. The asylum seekers, mostly men, reportedly attempted suicide by banging their heads on the wall, hitting their heads with hard objects and jumping at passing cars.
Australia is seeking greater cooperation from Indonesian authorities to stem the growing flow of asylum seekers passing through the archipelago with the help of people smugglers and poor fishermen.
Uninhabited Ashmore island is said to be a popular destination for asylum seekers traveling by boat because setting foot there ensures Australian officials will process refugee claims under UN rules, says AP.
Last year, authorities were able to foil attempts to smuggle around 500 illegal immigrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and a number of other countries to Australia, also via the East Nusa Tenggara route.
-The Jakarta Post
HAZARA NEWS WESTERN AUSTRALIA
www.hazarawa.blogspot.com
Email
hazaranewswa@yahoo.com
Up to 41 asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Turkey fled to Australia by chartered boat after a local police chief was said to have been fooled by a telephone caller who is now suspected to have been a people smuggler.
An unidentified caller who claimed he was an official at the National Police headquarters in Jakarta ordered West Sabu Police chief First Insp. Kalansansius Dhosa to release the asylum seekers then in his custody.
The caller, now suspected to have been a member of a human trafficking ring in West Nusa Tenggara, asked the West Sabu Police to release the asylum seekers because they were about to be moved to Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara.
As the boat containing the asylum seekers arrived at the Sabu Raijua Port, it suddenly changed course and headed off in the direction of Australia.
East Nusa Tenggara Police chief Brig. Gen. Antonius Bambang Suedi confirmed the details of the escape.
"The caller is believed to have been at the port, so when the immigrants arrived, they were immediately placed on the boat to Australia," said Bambang.
"According to the explanation from the West Sabu Police chief, he was tricked into releasing the immigrants without police escort and allowing them to continue their trip to Kupang. It *then* turned out that the boat was not going to Kupang but headed instead in the direction of Australia," he added.
But the police account was challenged by a local Sabu community leader, Markus Dima, who claimed that the asylum seekers bought their freedom by bribing the police, as reported by AP.
Bambang said the fleeing group had most likely already arrived at Ashmore Island, a low-lying uninhabited Australian territory bordering Indonesia. The group of islands concerned were previously sometimes considered part of the Rote Ndao Regency of East Nusa Tenggara and have been used by traditional Indonesian fishermen.
The group of asylum seekers had entered Indonesian territory illegally because they did not have visas. They had been detained for six weeks at the police station at Sabu.
The escapees were part of a group of 55 immigrants detained on Sabu Island since Jan. 13. The other 14 are being held in Kupang.
Bambang said he had asked police at the Sabu Raijua Port to hold the immigrants until immigration authorities arrived, but they were cheated by an unidentified caller. "We will examine the West Sabu Police chief," he said.
Before fleeing, the illegal boat people had reportedly threatened to commit suicide if forced to move to Kupang. The asylum seekers, mostly men, reportedly attempted suicide by banging their heads on the wall, hitting their heads with hard objects and jumping at passing cars.
Australia is seeking greater cooperation from Indonesian authorities to stem the growing flow of asylum seekers passing through the archipelago with the help of people smugglers and poor fishermen.
Uninhabited Ashmore island is said to be a popular destination for asylum seekers traveling by boat because setting foot there ensures Australian officials will process refugee claims under UN rules, says AP.
Last year, authorities were able to foil attempts to smuggle around 500 illegal immigrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and a number of other countries to Australia, also via the East Nusa Tenggara route.
-The Jakarta Post
HAZARA NEWS WESTERN AUSTRALIA
www.hazarawa.blogspot.com
hazaranewswa@yahoo.com
Asylum seeker boat intercepted near Ashmore Islands carrying 10 passengers
A SUSPECTED asylum seeker boat with 10 passengers aboard has been intercepted near the Ashmore Islands of northwestern Australia.
It is the 14th boat to have arrived in Australian waters so far in 2010.
Border Protection Command said the boat was intercepted at 11.35am (AEDT) today, 16 nautical miles north of the Ashmore Islands.
There are believed to be 10 passengers on board, along with three crew members, a statement from Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor's office said.
They will be taken to Christmas Island where they will undergo security, identity and health checks.
-NEWS.COM
HAZARA NEWS WESTERN AUSTRALIA
www.hazarawa.blogspot.com
Email
hazaranewswa@yahoo.com
It is the 14th boat to have arrived in Australian waters so far in 2010.
Border Protection Command said the boat was intercepted at 11.35am (AEDT) today, 16 nautical miles north of the Ashmore Islands.
There are believed to be 10 passengers on board, along with three crew members, a statement from Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor's office said.
They will be taken to Christmas Island where they will undergo security, identity and health checks.
-NEWS.COM
HAZARA NEWS WESTERN AUSTRALIA
www.hazarawa.blogspot.com
hazaranewswa@yahoo.com
Indonesia stops 93 AFGHAN asylum seekers
LATEST NEWS: 2055 WAST
Indonesian police say they are detaining 93 Afghan asylum seekers suspected of trying to reach Australia.
Lt. Col. Herukoco, chief of Sukabumi district police, says police stopped three minibuses carrying the Afghans including five woman and three children early Saturday in Indonesia's West Java province near Jakarta.
Herukoco, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, says the group told police they left their war-ravaged homeland to start new lives as refugees in Australia.
He says the group did not have Indonesian visas and has been transferred to an immigration detention centre while their identities are confirmed.
-AP
HAZARA NEWS WESTERN AUSTRALIA
www.hazarawa.blogspot.com
Email
hazaranewswa@yahoo.com
Indonesian police say they are detaining 93 Afghan asylum seekers suspected of trying to reach Australia.
Lt. Col. Herukoco, chief of Sukabumi district police, says police stopped three minibuses carrying the Afghans including five woman and three children early Saturday in Indonesia's West Java province near Jakarta.
Herukoco, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, says the group told police they left their war-ravaged homeland to start new lives as refugees in Australia.
He says the group did not have Indonesian visas and has been transferred to an immigration detention centre while their identities are confirmed.
-AP
HAZARA NEWS WESTERN AUSTRALIA
www.hazarawa.blogspot.com
hazaranewswa@yahoo.com
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Questions raised over mystery asylum boat: 105 feared drowned
The family of an Afghan man who's gone missing en route to Australia have called on the Federal Government to find out what may have happened to him. The family fears that Mirza Hussain Jaffari was on a boat which may have sunk after leaving Indonesia in October.
Last month, members of the Afghan community in Brisbane expressed concern about the vessel, which they think had more than 100 people on board. But the Australian Government says it knows nothing about the boat.
In early October, Mirza Hussain Jaffari apparently called his family from Indonesia, saying he was on a boat about to head towards Australia. He said 107 people were on the boat, which was new.
Mirza Hussain Jaffari's cousin, Jaffar Hussain, is speaking from Afghanistan.
JAFFAR HUSSAIN: Mirza Hussain Jaffari spoke to his family in early October, probably the 2nd of October at midnight when he last time called his family and said that he's now leaving for Australia by boat.
DAVID WEBER: He did not say where he was leaving from?
JAFFAR HUSSAIN: No he did not mention about the place he was leaving from because he was, maybe he didn't thought it necessary because his family doesn't know about Indonesia at all. He said that there are other Hazaras, other Afghans, who are on board.
DAVID WEBER: Why did Mirza Hussain Jaffari leave Afghanistan?
JAFFAR HUSSAIN: There are various reasons. The first thing is really security and political instability in Afghanistan. These village has been under attack for the last three years by Taliban-supported Kuchi tribes.
DAVID WEBER: Does he have a wife and children?
JAFFAR HUSSAIN: No he does not have a wife and children. He has a mother, three sisters, one younger brother.
DAVID WEBER: So it was a big decision for him to go because he had people relying on him in Afghanistan?
JAFFAR HUSSAIN: Yes it was a very difficult decision for him and we also don't know how he paid thousands of dollars to smugglers to take him to Australia. Where did he find it from? Maybe he sold a part of his land or something.
DAVID WEBER: Mr Hussain has called on the Australian Government to hold an investigation, and release any information it may have.
JAFFAR HUSSAIN: If they are in the custody of the Australian Government, if they are held in any detention centres, the families have not heard from their relatives for last three months and they are very much concerned and worried.
If the Australian Government does not have any information about the boat, we appeal from the Government of Australia to contact the authorities in Indonesia and start a search and rescue operation for them.
DAVID WEBER: A spokesman for the Federal Government says there's no evidence that a boatload of more than 100 people left Indonesia on or about October the 2nd and he says it's only speculation that a vessel sank.
-ABC
HAZARA NEWS WESTERN AUSTRALIA
www.hazarawa.blogspot.com
Email
hazaranewswa@yahoo.com
Last month, members of the Afghan community in Brisbane expressed concern about the vessel, which they think had more than 100 people on board. But the Australian Government says it knows nothing about the boat.
In early October, Mirza Hussain Jaffari apparently called his family from Indonesia, saying he was on a boat about to head towards Australia. He said 107 people were on the boat, which was new.
Mirza Hussain Jaffari's cousin, Jaffar Hussain, is speaking from Afghanistan.
JAFFAR HUSSAIN: Mirza Hussain Jaffari spoke to his family in early October, probably the 2nd of October at midnight when he last time called his family and said that he's now leaving for Australia by boat.
DAVID WEBER: He did not say where he was leaving from?
JAFFAR HUSSAIN: No he did not mention about the place he was leaving from because he was, maybe he didn't thought it necessary because his family doesn't know about Indonesia at all. He said that there are other Hazaras, other Afghans, who are on board.
DAVID WEBER: Why did Mirza Hussain Jaffari leave Afghanistan?
JAFFAR HUSSAIN: There are various reasons. The first thing is really security and political instability in Afghanistan. These village has been under attack for the last three years by Taliban-supported Kuchi tribes.
DAVID WEBER: Does he have a wife and children?
JAFFAR HUSSAIN: No he does not have a wife and children. He has a mother, three sisters, one younger brother.
DAVID WEBER: So it was a big decision for him to go because he had people relying on him in Afghanistan?
JAFFAR HUSSAIN: Yes it was a very difficult decision for him and we also don't know how he paid thousands of dollars to smugglers to take him to Australia. Where did he find it from? Maybe he sold a part of his land or something.
DAVID WEBER: Mr Hussain has called on the Australian Government to hold an investigation, and release any information it may have.
JAFFAR HUSSAIN: If they are in the custody of the Australian Government, if they are held in any detention centres, the families have not heard from their relatives for last three months and they are very much concerned and worried.
If the Australian Government does not have any information about the boat, we appeal from the Government of Australia to contact the authorities in Indonesia and start a search and rescue operation for them.
DAVID WEBER: A spokesman for the Federal Government says there's no evidence that a boatload of more than 100 people left Indonesia on or about October the 2nd and he says it's only speculation that a vessel sank.
-ABC
HAZARA NEWS WESTERN AUSTRALIA
www.hazarawa.blogspot.com
hazaranewswa@yahoo.com
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Asylum seeker boat intercepted: 41 Passengers
Latest News: 2300 WAST
Another boat carrying asylum seekers has been intercepted off Australia's north coast.
The boat carrying 41 passengers and four crew was found north-west of Ashmore Islands.
The Federal Government says those on board will be taken to Christmas island for health, security and identity checks.
Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison says the number of asylum seekers arriving in Australia is out of control.
"This year in 2010 we've had 13 boats arrive, we've had more than 700 people arrive on those boats in just seven weeks," he said.
"This is an extraordinary level of arrivals for a new year. In this period of time it took six months last year to have that many people arrive, so it really is escalating.
"If it continues at this rate at 100 people a week, then we could see 5,000 people arrive this year.
"That would eclipse all previous records and they're arriving because of the policies of this Government.
"Last year, the UNHCR's own figures for the nine months to September showed that Australia's asylum applications increased five times as much as they did around the world."
Meanwhile, the NT inquest into the deaths of five Afghan asylum seekers who were killed when their boat exploded last April heard criminal charges could be laid.
Three Afghan refugees are accused of deliberately setting fire to the SIEV 36 near Ashmore Reef.
Counsel assisting the coroner, Stephen Walsh, QC, said the evidence suggested that the three Afghan refugees acted together to implement a plan and the explosion was caused by a series of deliberate acts.
Mr Walsh told the inquest the fatal explosion could have been prevented if the Navy had fully searched the SIEV 36, secured the unleaded petrol on board, and confiscated all matches and lighters.
-ABC
HAZARA NEWS WESTERN AUSTRALIA
www.hazarawa.blogspot.com
Email
hazaranewswa@yahoo.com
Another boat carrying asylum seekers has been intercepted off Australia's north coast.
The boat carrying 41 passengers and four crew was found north-west of Ashmore Islands.
The Federal Government says those on board will be taken to Christmas island for health, security and identity checks.
Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison says the number of asylum seekers arriving in Australia is out of control.
"This year in 2010 we've had 13 boats arrive, we've had more than 700 people arrive on those boats in just seven weeks," he said.
"This is an extraordinary level of arrivals for a new year. In this period of time it took six months last year to have that many people arrive, so it really is escalating.
"If it continues at this rate at 100 people a week, then we could see 5,000 people arrive this year.
"That would eclipse all previous records and they're arriving because of the policies of this Government.
"Last year, the UNHCR's own figures for the nine months to September showed that Australia's asylum applications increased five times as much as they did around the world."
Meanwhile, the NT inquest into the deaths of five Afghan asylum seekers who were killed when their boat exploded last April heard criminal charges could be laid.
Three Afghan refugees are accused of deliberately setting fire to the SIEV 36 near Ashmore Reef.
Counsel assisting the coroner, Stephen Walsh, QC, said the evidence suggested that the three Afghan refugees acted together to implement a plan and the explosion was caused by a series of deliberate acts.
Mr Walsh told the inquest the fatal explosion could have been prevented if the Navy had fully searched the SIEV 36, secured the unleaded petrol on board, and confiscated all matches and lighters.
-ABC
HAZARA NEWS WESTERN AUSTRALIA
www.hazarawa.blogspot.com
hazaranewswa@yahoo.com
Sunday, February 14, 2010
IMPORTANT NEWS TO THE PUBLIC: 105 Afghan Asylum Seekers
Hazara News Western Australia
It is believed that 105 Afghan asylum seekers have been feared to have drowned on the month of October 2009. As a result, several inquiries have been made to HNWA from relatives and friends of those who might be aboard that boat.
One enquiry is from: Sayed Ali'Sha
The following are the names of his relatives and friends who are originated from "Malistan" a town in Afghanistan:
To contact Sayed Ali'Sha for more on that bases: hussaini516@yahoo.com
If you believe that you might know any one from that boat or in fact any relative info regarding the asylum seekers, then please don't hesitate to contact us at hazaranewswa@yahoo.com or visit us at www.hazarawa.blogspot.com
To contact Hazara News Western Australia: hazaranewswa@yahoo.com
HAZARA NEWS WESTERN AUSTRALIA
www.hazarawa.blogspot.com
Email
hazaranewswa@yahoo.com
It is believed that 105 Afghan asylum seekers have been feared to have drowned on the month of October 2009. As a result, several inquiries have been made to HNWA from relatives and friends of those who might be aboard that boat.
One enquiry is from: Sayed Ali'Sha
The following are the names of his relatives and friends who are originated from "Malistan" a town in Afghanistan:
+ Sayed Sha Chaman
+ Dawood
+ Kazim
+ Sarwar'Sha
+ [hajiawgho]* * note: name may be spelled incorrectly
To contact Sayed Ali'Sha for more on that bases: hussaini516@yahoo.com
If you believe that you might know any one from that boat or in fact any relative info regarding the asylum seekers, then please don't hesitate to contact us at hazaranewswa@yahoo.com or visit us at www.hazarawa.blogspot.com
To contact Hazara News Western Australia: hazaranewswa@yahoo.com
HAZARA NEWS WESTERN AUSTRALIA
www.hazarawa.blogspot.com
hazaranewswa@yahoo.com
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Abbott vows to stop asylum seekers: 48 asylum seekers arrive
A coalition government would return to a hardline stance on asylum seekers, turning some boats back and creating a class of visas which don't confer permanent residency to those granted protection.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott made the Liberal Party's intentions clear in Darwin on Saturday, warning that at the current rate there was likely to be 5000 asylum seekers arrive by boat by the end of the year.
He said Labor had inherited a robust and effective border protection system but it had been progressively unwound, paving the way for the current border crisis.
"I am concerned that people are going to be brought directly to the mainland," he told reporters.
"And it seems that under Mr Rudd, boat people have got a highway to Australia and it's no wonder that they keep coming."
Mr Abbott said the opposition had formed a special shadow cabinet committee to formulate strategies to stop the flow of asylum seeker arrivals, which could be implemented from day one of a coalition government.
An effective border protection policy required four key elements, starting with a rigorous commitment to offshore processing, he said.
It would also feature a special visa category for unauthorised arrivals to ensure that permanent residency was not an automatic right while governments should be prepared, under the right circumstances, to turn back boats.
"The coalition is committed to pursuing policies based on these principles to ensure that Australia's borders are safe," Mr Abbott said in a joint statement with opposition justice and customs spokesman Michael Keenan and immigration spokesman Scott Morrison.
The coalition committee will comprise Mr Keenan as convenor, Mr Morrison, opposition deputy leader Julie Bishop, defence spokesman David Johnston, shadow attorney-general George Brandis, opposition parliamentary secretary Jason Wood and former coalition immigration minister Philip Ruddock.
But a spokesman for Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor said the Rudd government already did much of what Mr Abbott proposed, while other elements were a return to discredited coalition policies with which Mr Ruddock was associated.
"It's essentially working back to the Howard policies of the past and we are not surprised by that," he said.
The spokesman said the government already worked extensively with source countries and regional nations to stem the flow of asylum seekers while the former Howard government had tried temporary protection visas - and they proved a dismal failure.
The major point of difference was the proposal to turn boats around, he said.
"Our current policy which we think is working is that we escort boats, if they are seaworthy, to Christmas Island where their claims are processed."
The most recent boat arrived in Australian waters on Friday evening, the 12th so far this year.
The vessel, intercepted by a navy patrol boat off Ashmore Island, carried 48 passengers and two crew.
A total of 667 asylum seekers have arrived by boat this year and all have been transported to Christmas Island for processing.
The government is planning to expand the facility from its current 1800 bed capacity to 2300.
-AAP
HAZARA NEWS WESTERN AUSTRALIA
www.hazarawa.blogspot.com
Email
hazaranewswa@yahoo.com
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott made the Liberal Party's intentions clear in Darwin on Saturday, warning that at the current rate there was likely to be 5000 asylum seekers arrive by boat by the end of the year.
He said Labor had inherited a robust and effective border protection system but it had been progressively unwound, paving the way for the current border crisis.
"I am concerned that people are going to be brought directly to the mainland," he told reporters.
"And it seems that under Mr Rudd, boat people have got a highway to Australia and it's no wonder that they keep coming."
Mr Abbott said the opposition had formed a special shadow cabinet committee to formulate strategies to stop the flow of asylum seeker arrivals, which could be implemented from day one of a coalition government.
An effective border protection policy required four key elements, starting with a rigorous commitment to offshore processing, he said.
It would also feature a special visa category for unauthorised arrivals to ensure that permanent residency was not an automatic right while governments should be prepared, under the right circumstances, to turn back boats.
"The coalition is committed to pursuing policies based on these principles to ensure that Australia's borders are safe," Mr Abbott said in a joint statement with opposition justice and customs spokesman Michael Keenan and immigration spokesman Scott Morrison.
The coalition committee will comprise Mr Keenan as convenor, Mr Morrison, opposition deputy leader Julie Bishop, defence spokesman David Johnston, shadow attorney-general George Brandis, opposition parliamentary secretary Jason Wood and former coalition immigration minister Philip Ruddock.
But a spokesman for Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor said the Rudd government already did much of what Mr Abbott proposed, while other elements were a return to discredited coalition policies with which Mr Ruddock was associated.
"It's essentially working back to the Howard policies of the past and we are not surprised by that," he said.
The spokesman said the government already worked extensively with source countries and regional nations to stem the flow of asylum seekers while the former Howard government had tried temporary protection visas - and they proved a dismal failure.
The major point of difference was the proposal to turn boats around, he said.
"Our current policy which we think is working is that we escort boats, if they are seaworthy, to Christmas Island where their claims are processed."
The most recent boat arrived in Australian waters on Friday evening, the 12th so far this year.
The vessel, intercepted by a navy patrol boat off Ashmore Island, carried 48 passengers and two crew.
A total of 667 asylum seekers have arrived by boat this year and all have been transported to Christmas Island for processing.
The government is planning to expand the facility from its current 1800 bed capacity to 2300.
-AAP
HAZARA NEWS WESTERN AUSTRALIA
www.hazarawa.blogspot.com
hazaranewswa@yahoo.com
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Asylum seekers threaten suicide-57 asylum seekers in Indonesian detention centre
A GROUP of 57 asylum seekers shipwrecked en route to Australia is refusing to enter an Indonesian detention centre, with at least three threatening suicide.
The Afghans were left stranded on the eastern Indonesian island of Sabu when their boat was ruined by heavy seas on January 13.
Indonesian authorities now want to move the asylum seekers into a detention centre in nearby Kupang, in West Timor.
But the Afghans - 50 men, five women and two children - insist they want to continue their journey to Australia.
"Two tried to commit suicide by banging their heads into a wall," senior local official Dominggus Widu Hau said.
"One tried to slit his wrist, but it didn't happen.
"They are now in better condition and have joined their friends again."
Officials from the International Organisation for Migration are in talks with the Afghans, who are being housed in an old mosque, Widu Hau said.
-Herald Sun
HAZARA NEWS WESTERN AUSTRALIA
www.hazarawa.blogspot.com
Email
hazaranewswa@yahoo.com
The Afghans were left stranded on the eastern Indonesian island of Sabu when their boat was ruined by heavy seas on January 13.
Indonesian authorities now want to move the asylum seekers into a detention centre in nearby Kupang, in West Timor.
But the Afghans - 50 men, five women and two children - insist they want to continue their journey to Australia.
"Two tried to commit suicide by banging their heads into a wall," senior local official Dominggus Widu Hau said.
"One tried to slit his wrist, but it didn't happen.
"They are now in better condition and have joined their friends again."
Officials from the International Organisation for Migration are in talks with the Afghans, who are being housed in an old mosque, Widu Hau said.
-Herald Sun
HAZARA NEWS WESTERN AUSTRALIA
www.hazarawa.blogspot.com
hazaranewswa@yahoo.com
Monday, February 1, 2010
Asylum-seeker boat sneaks into Christmas Island cove: 181 Asylum Seekers
LATEST NEWS: 2350 WAST
THE Department of Immigration and Citizenship was taken by surprise yesterday when Christmas Island residents spotted a large boat carrying almost 200 asylum-seekers motoring into Flying Fish Cove.
Residents of the suburb known as The Kampong saw the boat from the windows of their waterfront flats as it approached the jetty shortly after 3pm local time yesterday (7pm AEDT).
The navy vessel HMAS Larrakia was standing off the cove when the boat arrived, and Immigration officers rushed to the scene.
Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor said last night the boat had 181 passengers, including women and children, and four crew on board. It is understood some of those on board are Hazaras from Afghanistan.
The process of unloading the asylum-seekers began about 4pm.
They are the ninth boatload of asylum-seekers to be unloaded at Christmas Island this year.
Before this boatload, there were 1595 asylum-seekers in the island's detention centre, which has a capacity of 1848.
-The Australian
HAZARA NEWS WESTERN AUSTRALIA
www.hazarawa.blogspot.com
Email
hazaranewswa@yahoo.com
THE Department of Immigration and Citizenship was taken by surprise yesterday when Christmas Island residents spotted a large boat carrying almost 200 asylum-seekers motoring into Flying Fish Cove.
Residents of the suburb known as The Kampong saw the boat from the windows of their waterfront flats as it approached the jetty shortly after 3pm local time yesterday (7pm AEDT).
The navy vessel HMAS Larrakia was standing off the cove when the boat arrived, and Immigration officers rushed to the scene.
Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor said last night the boat had 181 passengers, including women and children, and four crew on board. It is understood some of those on board are Hazaras from Afghanistan.
The process of unloading the asylum-seekers began about 4pm.
They are the ninth boatload of asylum-seekers to be unloaded at Christmas Island this year.
Before this boatload, there were 1595 asylum-seekers in the island's detention centre, which has a capacity of 1848.
-The Australian
HAZARA NEWS WESTERN AUSTRALIA
www.hazarawa.blogspot.com
hazaranewswa@yahoo.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)