By Eileen Gould
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

CANBERRA, Australia – In a visit to the Australian region of Utopia last week, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Irene Khan urged Australia to rescind its laws, putting an end to discrimination against Aboriginal people.

Khan estimates that approximately 45,000 Aboriginal people have been affected by certain measures, in particular, those that allow land confiscation and interference with income payments.

After a report revealed large amounts of abuse and violence in these communities, the government enacted discriminatory practices as part of the 2007 Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER).

Critics of NTER, including Amnesty International, believe that it imposes harsh measures on all Aboriginal people living in the Northern Territory.  One such practice is “compulsory income management”, which stipulates that individuals shall receive half of their welfare payments in the form of the Basics card, a “virtual payment” which can only be spent in particular shops on certain goods.

Amnesty claims that Australia has breached its international obligations on human and indigenous rights by imposing these measures, which have left the Aborigines feeling stigmatized and lacking the flexibility to manage their own lives.

“Disempowered, robbed of their dignity, threatened with the loss of their identity and attacked on their own ancestral lands”, Khan is shocked by these human rights violations.

In her statement, Khan said “[i]ndigenous people . . . deserve the same respect, safety and protection as does any Australian . . . but this will not be achieved in a sustained manner under the Emergency Response which is stigmatizing and disempowering an already marginalized people and which is in violation of Australia’s international obligations.”

Khan found the existence of human rights violations within one of the world’s most developed nations to be “inexcusable” and “morally outrageous.”

Individuals living in these communities are subject to chronic violence, housing problems, and health issues.  Alcohol and substance abuse are also rampant.

Australia’s Indigenous Affairs Minister, Jenny Macklin, indicated that Australia would put forth legislation to reinstate the Racial Discrimination Act in the Northern Territory.

The government suspended the Racial Discrimination Act and Northern Territory anti-discrimination legislation, which allowed it to enact NTER and intervene into the affairs of Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory.  In doing so, the government contributed to worsening poverty levels in Aboriginal communities.

The Secretary General of Amnesty has called on Australians to put an end to this disparity.

For more information please see:
New Tang Dynasty Television – Amnesty Cracks Down on Australia – 21 November 2009

Associated Press – Amnesty boss urges equality for poor Aborigines – 18 November 2009

Amnesty International – Australia: Government must overturn law which discriminates against aboriginal people – 18 November 2009

ABC News – Shocking Conditions in Utopia: Amnesty – 16 November 2009

By Eileen Gould
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

CANBERRA, Australia – Almost a month after first being taken in by an Australian navy boat, Indonesia has agreed to detain the seventy-eight Sri Lankan asylum seekers and hold them in an immigration facility in Tanjung Pinang, Riau.

The detention center in Riau will hold the asylum seekers for up to six months, with Australia covering the costs.  The deal provides that those found to be refugees will be guaranteed resettlement within four weeks.  Others will await processing to determine whether they are “genuine refugees”, and if found to be the case, they will be resettled within twelve weeks.

Asylum seekers, already housed in the facility, have been waiting for as long as seven months, and question the preferential treatment that the Rudd government is extending to these Tamils.

The border protection committee, which is chaired by Immigration Minister Chris Evans and includes staff members on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s administration, devised the deal.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith claimed that this situation was “a special, almost unique, circumstance of a search and rescue in Indonesian waters”, while the Prime Minister maintains that they have not been treated any differently.

Parliament questioned Rudd yesterday over his role in the deal that prompted the asylum seekers to agree to leave the boat.

Rudd claimed that he knew negotiations were taking place but claims he had no prior knowledge of the arrangements.

The Riau immigration facility, which has a maximum capacity of 400 occupants, currently holds approximately seventy-seven asylum seekers, who traveled from Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran with hopes of entering Australia.

The asylum seekers have been on board an Australian patrol vessel, the Oceanic Viking, near the Riau Islands since October 26th, when navy boats found them in international waters within Indonesia’s search and rescue zone.

Twenty-two Sri Lankans arrived at the detention center last Friday, November 13th and the remaining fifty-six are expected to arrive today.

Meanwhile, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono trip to meet with the Prime Minister this week has delayed his trip.

The opposition to the current administration characterized Yudhoyono’s postponement as an “extraordinary slap in the face”, blaming the Prime Minister for tense relations between the two nations.

News that the Tamils had ended the standoff broke, just as the Australian navy intercepted two more boats, one containing forty-one asylum seekers, and brought them to the detention facility on Christmas Island.

For more information, please see:
The Australian – Boat saga test ties to Jakarta – 18 November 2009

New Zealand Herald – Rudd in doldrums as challenges mount – 18 November 2009

The Jakarta Post – RI agrees to detain 78 Sri Lankan asylum seekers – 17 November 2009

Sydney Morning Herald – Tamils set for mixed welcome to detention – 18 November 2009

Radio Australia News – Australian navy stops another boat carrying asylum seekers – 17 November 2009

WA Today – Asylum seeker stand-off ‘nearly over’ – 17 November 2009

Sydney Morning Herald – Our newest Australians leave the boat – 13 November 2009

By Cindy Trinh
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea – Three politicians from Papua New Guinea (PNG) have joined an international campaign to support West Papuans that were allegedly persecuted by Indonesian authorities.

It is estimated that 10,000 to 20,000 West Papuans now live in PNG after they fled their homes on the Indonesian side of the border. These West Papuans were forced to flee because of the human rights abuses they suffered in Indonesia.

Hundreds of West Papuans settled in a refugee camp near the border in PNG’s Southern Highlands region.

The Indonesian government now plans to repatriate up to 700 West Papuans who live in PNG’s capital, Port Moresby, and towns along the shared border.

The Governor of Port Moresby, Powers Parkop, stated that PNG “has turned a blind eye and deaf ear to the issue.”

Jamie Maxton-Graham and Boka Kondra also criticize PNG’s inaction over the “plight of their fellow Melanesians” (the Melanesians are an ethnic minority in Indonesia’s Papua province).

Maxton-Graham stated that he will help launch and sign the PNG Charter of the International Parliamentarians for West Papua.

These three politicians joined 50 others from other countries in signing the charter. The charter calls for the United Nations to “restore the right of the indigenous people of West Papua to self-determination.”

The other signatories of the charter include Australian Greens leader Senator Bob Brown, Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, Greens MP Greg Barber, and MPs from the UK, Sweden, Czech Republic, Vanuatu, and New Zealand.

In response to seeing horrific photos of atrocities on West Papuans allegedly committed by the Indonesian police and military, Maxton-Graham stated: “The international community and our charter says Indonesia must stop this.”

For more information, please see:
Radio New Zealand – Three PNG MPs support self determination cause for West Papuans – 15 November 2009

Asian Pacific Solidarity Network – Papua New Guinea politicians join campaign to support persecuted West Papuans – 13 November 2009

Free West Papua – Global lobby for West Papua takes off in PNG – 13 November 2009

InfoPapua.org – Global lobby for West Papua takes off in PNG – 13 November 2009

By Eileen Gould
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

SUVA, Fiji – Fiji’s decision to expel Australia and New Zealand’s top diplomats has prompted the European Union to speak out.

Fiji’s Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama expelled Australia’s High Commissioner James Batley, as well as New Zealand’s envoy, pursuant to a memorandum issued by Fiji’s chief justice, Anthony Gates.

The memorandum criticized Australia’s policy aimed at preventing foreign justices from holding positions on Fiji’s court.

Several Sri Lankan judges and magistrates were unable to obtain transit visas from Australia and were thus prevented from taking up their assignments in Fiji. A similar incident occurred in New Zealand.

According to some, Gates’ statements were misleading.

Prior to this incident, Bainimarama threatened to take action against both nations regarding the travel bans, but without specifically referencing the Sri Lankan justices.

In response to Bainimarama’s decision to expel the diplomats from Fiji, the European Union issued a statement last Tuesday, encouraging Fiji to re-think its position.

The Swedish Presidency of the EU stated that the isolationist tendencies of Fiji’s military leader have led to deteriorating relations with the international community.

Further, the EU noted that “[b]y isolating itself, Fiji puts at risk the concerted efforts to bring about the return of rule of law and democracy”.

The countries of the Pacific region and Fiji must work together to prevent the country from encouraging additional negative developments.

The EU has also insisted that Bainimarama’s administration restore democratic rule to the tiny nation.

Australia and New Zealand have been the most outspoken in condemning the military leader’s rule.

Last May, the Pacific Islands Forum suspended Fiji’s membership after the Prime Minister refused to hold elections.

The military has occupied the country since December 2006, when Fiji’s leader ousted the elected government.

For more information, please see:
News.com.au – EU regrets Fiji expulsion of top envoys – 11 November 2009

ABC News – Fiji’s expulsion of envoy unwarranted – 09 November 2009

The Australian – Coup culture ‘risks starving people of Fiji – 09 November 2009

The Australian – Flawed memo behind Fiji’s decision to expel top Australian diplomats – 08 November 2009