Number of Asylum Seekers Continues to Rise Amidst Controversy Over Australia’s Immigration Policies

By Eileen Gould
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

CANBERRA, Australia – Over the past two weeks, five boats carrying more than 260 asylum seekers have been apprehended in Australian waters by Customs and Border Protection officials. With the latest intervention on September 16, the Rudd government has come under heavy criticism for its immigration and border protection policies.

Those in opposition claim that weakened immigration policies have caused an increase in people smuggling activity in Australia. As a result of a relaxed mandatory detention policy as well as the elimination of temporary protection visas, entering Australia has become easier in recent years. Prior to 2007, when the current administration took office, the Howard government implemented tough anti-asylum seeker laws, requiring refugees to reapply every five years to stay in Australia and also prohibiting their families from joining them. According to Dr. Sharman Stone, an opposition immigration spokeswoman, the government has apprehended ships but has not successfully prevented the flow of asylum seekers.

Government officials claim there is no connection between its policies and the recent increase in asylum boats. The problem has worsened around the globe and will continue to present challenges in the coming years. Displaced individuals from around the world, particularly in places experiencing violence (for instance Sri Lanka, Iraq, and Afghanistan) seek refuge in wealthy developed countries, such as Australia, and are increasingly turning to people smugglers in order to get there.

In an attempt to crack down on people-smuggling, the Rudd government has implemented policies aimed at offshore arrests of criminal syndicates, who charge upwards of US $15,000 per person. The current administration has spent $52 million on border protection, increasing the number of ships, planes, and people patrolling the waters surrounding Australia. In addition, authorities in Australia are cooperating with Indonesian and Malaysian law enforcement to deter unlawful migration. To date, Indonesian law enforcement officials along with the Australian Federal Police have prevented approximately 1,000 individuals seeking asylum from embarking in Jakarta.

Convictions for people smuggling offenses carry heavy fines or lengthy prison sentences. On September 17, two Indonesian men and a Sri Lankan were charged with people smuggling and face a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail or a fine of up to $220,000.

Australia_0916

Photo:  Australian naval boats apprehend a boat allegedly carrying asylum seekers in waters off the coast of Australia in April 2009, Courtesy of Time.

For more information, please see:

Brisbane Times – Alarm over five asylum boats in 14 days – 18 September 2009

The Canberra Times – Aust faces tide of refugees for ‘years’ – 18 September 2009

Time – Australia: Boat Arrivals of Asylum Seekers Rising – 18 September 2009

The Australian – Suspected asylum seeker smugglers arrested in Perth – 17 September 2009

Australia Network News – Breakdown in immigration policy: Australian opposition – 17 September 2009

Taiwan News – Refugee boat intercepted in Australian waters – 17 September 2009

South Korea: Democracy Deteriorating

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SEOUL, South Korea– Although South Korea ousted a military dictatorship and embraced democracy more than two decades ago, reports have surfaced that since South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office in February 2008, the country’s state of democracy has been backsliding.

Since his inauguration, President Lee has removed officials who hold liberal views from state-affiliated news outlets.  This move has actually brought the head of the International Federation of Journalists to come to Seoul and ask for guarantees to press freedom.

Clark Sorensen, a Korea expert at University of Washington, said, “[I]t does seem…that some old patterns from predemocratic past have resurfaced.” 

Amnesty International’s Norma Kang Muico also expressed concern saying, “[T]here have been no prosecutions of riot police, despite ample evidence…of human rights violations committed by some police officials.”

Moreover, thousands of teachers face punishment by the government for participating in civic movements calling for protection of democratic freedoms.  89 members of the Korean Teachers’ and Education Workers’ Union (KTU) are under criminal investigation for organizing a petition, the contents of which included the deteriorating state of South Korean democracy.

Im Byung-koo, a member of KTU, said, “As people who have to teach children [about recent events], we thought, ‘It’s time for us to speak about democracy.’”

However, the Seoul Central Prosecutor’s Office raided KTU offices and seized computer servers and documents, including documents that were not included in the search warrant.  KTU announced that they will “fight to protect the freedom of opinion and expression and will defend the values of democracy.”

Im faces termination from his employment for signing the petitions and is barred from teaching for three years.  South Korean Ministry of Education justified their punishment of the teachers saying that civil servants and teachers’ unions are barred from group political activity.

Some critics, including Lance Compa of Cornell University, claim South Korea is violating International Labor Organization laws.  Compa said, “[The] law can prevent political proselytizing in the classroom by teachers, but cannot restrict their participation in political affairs in society at large.”
For more information, please see:

Christian Science Monitor – Is South Korea backsliding on its democracy movement – 13 September 2009

Korean Teachers & Education Workers’ Union – KTU headquarters raided by prosecutors and riot police – 3 July 2009

Oh My News – Prosecutors: Indicting the Teachers or Not? – 9 September 2009

Update: Charles Taylor Denies Supporting RUF Rebels

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Charles Taylor has denied that he commanded the release of peacekeepers, but rather that he conveyed the international community’s message.

“It’s a lie.  I did not command him.  The only thing I did on the UN situation was to tell Issa Sesay to release those people and to release them unconditionally,” Taylor said.  “I told him the concerns of the international community and that if they did not release the peacekeepers, the international community will come down on them like a hammer.  The whole issue was not my decision.”

A witness testified that RUF (Revolutionary United Front) rebels abducted UN peacekeepers in 2000 and the hostages were eventually handed over to the UN in Liberia after Taylor ordered Sesay, Sierra Leonean rebel leader, to release them.  The witness also testified that Taylor was not sincere in his commitment to bring peace to Sierra Leone.

Taylor also denied giving Sesay arms and ammunition to take back to Sierra Leone.

Although a witness testified that in 1997 a Liberian rebel known as Jungle said he picked up weapons from Taylor’s White Flower residence, Taylor testified that his residence was never used to transport weapons.

“Nobody ever picked up weapons from White Flower.  Nobody ever picked up a single weapon there, not even Benjamin Yeaten,” Taylor said.  “I say he is lying.  He must be confused.  In fact, White Flower does not exist in 1997.  I moved into that building in January 1998.”

Taylor also denied allegations that he backed and controlled RUF rebel leader Foday Sankoh during the country’s 11-year war.  Taylor maintains that his last correspondence with Sankoh was in May 1992 so there was no way that these allegations could be true.

It was admitted that there was a possibility that some of Taylor’s NPFL (National Patriotic Front of Liberia) could have been in contact with some of Sankoh’s “Special Forces” but that if he had any knowledge of it he would have put it to a stop.

“If I had known that any senior operator was in contact with Sankoh, he would have been removed and punished,” Taylor testified in front of the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

The court will be observing the Islamic holiday Ramadan on Monday.  Taylor’s testimony will resume on Tuesday.

For more information, please see:

CharlesTaylorTrial.com – Taylor Did Not Have Any Contact With RUF Leader Foday Sankoh After May 1992, He Says – 17 September 2009

CharlesTaylorTrial.com – Taylor Refutes Rebel Radio Operator Evidence – 16 September 2009

CharlesTaylorTrial.com – Nobody Ever Transported Weapons From Taylor’s White Flower Residence to RUF Rebels in Sierra Leone, He Says – 15 September 2009

CharlesTaylorTrial.com – Taylor Did Not Command RUF to Release UN Hostages, Only Conveyed A Message From the International Community, He Says – 14 September 2009

Impunity Watch – Charles Taylor Still on Stand Defending His Actions – 12 September 2009

UNHCR Holds Conference in Syria to Address Iraqi Refugee Crisis

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria– The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) held a three-day conference on Iraqi refugees and their rights to international protection from August 11 through August 13 at Damascus’s Four Seasons Hotel.

The workshop discussed such topics as international refugee law, refugee status determination, the rights and duties of refugees and asylum seekers and the protection of refugees with special needs.  The workshop focused mainly on the ever growing Iraqi refugee crisis in Syria.

As of August 2009, there were over two-hundred thousand Iraqi refugees registered with the UNHCR in Syria, of which 82, 427 were identified as children, adolescents, women, elderly people at risk or disabled persons with critical medical conditions or with special needs protection.  Yet, the numbers hardly end there.  Faisal al-Miqdad, Syria’s Deputy Foreign Minister, contends the crisis is much deeper than that.  He believes the number of Iraqi refugees in Syria to be around 1.2 million, a staggering number in a country of roughly 18 million.  These huge influxes of refugees have complicated life for many throughout Syria.

The Deputy Foreign Minister also said that the human health needs of the arriving Iraqis is ever growing, particularly among women and children.  The Syrian government is attempting, with what resources it has available, to remedy the situation.  Despite their best efforts, a health care crisis had emerged.

The UNHCR recently estimated that the number of Iraqi refugee families in Syria without a breadwinner is approximately thirty percent.  This number is significantly higher among female-led houses.  As a result, many women have been forced into prostitution or have been forced to use their daughters in prostitution to sustain the family.  Furthermore, there is an urgent need to provide appropriate care for the elderly and for the very large number of arrivals with disabilities, mainly as a result of injuries sustained while in Iraq.

As such, the Syrian authorities have taken important steps to remedy the refugee situation from Iraq and other countries.  “This workshop reflects the significance that Syria accords to asylum issues, in view of its generosity in hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees from Iraq, Somalia, Sudan and other countries” said Radhouane Noucier, the UNHCR Middle East and North Africa Bureau Director.

For more information, please see:

Al Arabiya- Iraqi Refugees in Syria Worry as Governments Dispute– 13 September 2009

Syria Today- UNHCR Holds Refugee Protection Conference– September 2009

UN Syria- UNHCR Protection Workshop Highlights Refugee Issues in Syria– 14 August 2009

FMR Review- Iraqi Refugees in Syria– January 2009

Venezuelan Weapons Deal Brings Fear of South American Arms Race

By Ryan C. Kossler
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela – Last week Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced that Venezuela had entered into an arms deal with Russia.  The Russian government is purported to have opened a 2.2 billion dollar line of credit for Venezuela to purchase weapons, including, 92 Soviet-era T-72 battle tanks, 300-millimeter Smerch multiple launch rocket systems, and surface to air missiles with a range of up to 186 miles.  The Russian government has said that it is willing to sell Venezuela whatever weapons it is willing to buy.

President Chavez said that the weapons were needed for defense purposes because his government feels threatened by Colombia’s recent agreement with the United States to give U.S. forces increased access to Colombian military bases.  The agreement between the U.S. and Colombia occurred last month and was for the purpose of combating regional drug trafficking and terrorism.

U.S. officials say that they fear Venezuela’s new arms acquisitions could lead to an arms race in the region, in turn, leading to regional instability.

State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said U.S. officials think Venezuela’s arms buildup “poses a serious challenge to stability in the western hemisphere.”

Kelly also said that the U.S. urges Venezuela “to be transparent in its purchases, and very clear about the purposes of these purchases” and that the U.S. is concerned that the Venezuelan government “put[s] in place very clear procedures and safeguards that these arms are not diverted to any irregular organizations,” referring to the fact that in the past, the Venezuelan government has been accused of providing arms to FARC guerillas in Colombia, who are considered a terrorist group by the Colombian government.

President Chavez said that his country had the “right to take the minimum necessary steps” to protect its national security and natural resources.  He accused the United States of encroaching on the country’s oil and gas reserves by saying “the empire has set its sights on them.”  President Chavez seemed to be implying that the U.S.-Colombian agreement may have ulterior motives.

Russia has already sold Venezuela military equipment amounting to the cost of 4 billion dollars since the United States barred the country from buying U.S. equipment and this latest purchase further outpaces those of any other South American country.

For more information, please see:

Google News – US Fears Latin American Arms Race – 14 September 2009

Miami Herald – US Worries About Venezuelan Arms Buildup- 14 September 2009

Miami Herald – Venezuela Gets $2.2B in Credit for Russian Arms- 13 September 2009

VOA News – US Says Venezuelan Arms Buildup Threatens Regional Stability – 14 September 2009

VOA News – Venezuela Buys Rockets from Russia – 12 September 2009