Rudd uses refugees
The Australian Government has announced a most unjust blanket suspension on processing new asylum claims by Afghan and Sri Lankan nationals.
Over 90 per cent of asylum seekers who arrive here by boat are found to have genuine claims for protection.
The situation remains desperate for many people in Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.
Activists, journalists, women and minority groups among others face real threats to their lives.
We cannot allow our politicians to use men, women and children fleeing persecution as political footballs.
Join Amnesty International and tell our Government to immediately reverse its freeze on applications by Afghan and Sri Lankan asylum seekers.
As a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention, we made a commitment to protect people at risk of torture, persecution and death.
It’s time to live up to our promises and show leadership on asylum and refugee issues.
The Australian Government is singling out these vulnerable people simply to score political points – we need your help to end this outrageous discrimination and reverse this decision.
Tell our government that it’s time to rise above political point-scoring and uphold fundamental human rights.
Call on the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Immigration and Citizenship to:
* Reverse their decision to suspend the processing of new asylum applications by Sri Lankan and Afghan nationals.
* Respect the rights of all refugees and asylum seekers regardless of where they come from.
* Stop over-riding the rights of the world’s most vulnerable people for political purposes
The Australian Government has a rigorous process of assessing asylum claims according to the internationally agreed criteria set out in the 1951 Refugee Convention.
Under that process, individuals who are found to be at risk of torture, persecution or death, are offered our protection. Those people who are not found to have genuine claims are returned to their country of origin. As Australia is a signatory to the Refugee Convention, that process should stand.
To
minister@immi.gov.au Stephen.Smith.MP@aph.gov.au
Dear Senator Evans,
I am outraged at your decision to suspend the processing of new asylum applications from Sri Lankan and Afghan nationals. I am deeply concerned that such a suspension would see Australia breaching its international obligations under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.
From Get Up
It’s hard to believe — but a few days ago the Rudd Government announced a policy that many thought could only be dreamed up by John Howard himself. Australia has become the first developed country in the world to stop processing asylum-seeker applications from Afghanis & Sri Lankans fleeing persecution in their war-torn countries.
On the day of the Government’s announcement, a young Sri Lankan teenager gave in to despair and attempted suicide, after languishing in detention for 11 months on Christmas Island. Today there’s news of more desperation, with a hunger strike by 50 Sri Lankan and Afghan asylum seekers.
Can you take a stand against this frightening return to the dark days of refugees in custody? Tell Immigration Minister, Chris Evans, that Australians reject a return to this shameful past:
www.getup.org.au/campaign/peopleabovepolitics
The Government claims that circumstances are changing in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, making them safer places to live.
The truth? We’ve been consulting with sources on the ground in these troubled and turbulent nations. Hazarras, an ethnic minority in Afghanistan, continue to be arbitrarily imprisoned and face violence and death, while in Sri Lanka even independent journalists are under threat and seeking escape.
Refugee opponents are busy sending hundreds of messages to our leaders urging a return to the ‘Howard’ style hard-line approach. Their messages are piling up on the desks of decision-makers. That’s why we need to ensure that Chris Evans, the Minister for Immigration, is met with a pile of messages of support for a humane refugee policy so high that he literally can’t see those sent by the forces of fear and intolerance.
Can you take a minute to send the Minister a message?
While the Liberal Party drums up their election year rhetoric with hyperbole, the Government sticks with an old favorite – hypocrisy. We know the script. But what happens next?
Newcomers to Australia’s shores face a very bleak future: indefinite detention or the prospect of being sent back to face violence and possible death. We must make no mistake – these policies will see a return to the dark days of 2004: suicides, hunger strikes and our nation’s reputation in tatters.
