Ship with refugees aboard barred entry

By Amit Baruah

SINGAPORE, AUG. 27. Australia today refused permission to a Norwegian container vessel, carrying 434 Afghan refugees, to enter its territorial waters as it took the battle against ``illegal immigrants'' to new levels.

The refugees, including 43 children and 22 women, were rescued last evening from a sinking ferry boat by the Norwegian vessel. According to reports, Indonesia too has refused permission to the vessel to dock at any of its ports, saying the refugees did not have proper entry documents.

In a surprise move, the Canberra Government barred the entry of the ship, which is now said to have dropped anchor 17 km off Christmas Island, Australia's Indian Ocean territory 2,300 km north-west off Perth.

The Norwegian ship's Captain, Arne Rinnan, was quoted as saying that he initially wanted to take the refugees to Indonesia, but they refused to go.

``They (some of the Afghan refugees) were talking in an aggressive and highly-excited voices and were really threatening a little bit,'' Capt. Rinnan said.

``They flatly refused to go back to Indonesia and they were threatening to jump overboard, some wanted to go back to the sinking ferry,'' the Captain said, explaining his decision to set course for Australian waters.

As elections approach, and political parties compete in taking a ``tough'' stand against ``illegal arrivals'' in Australia, the country's Prime Minister, Mr. John Howard, announced that the Cabinet had decided not to allow the ship to berth. ``The Government, having taken legal advice on this matter, and having considered it very carefully this morning, has indicated to the ship's captain that it does not have permission to enter Australian territorial waters,'' the Prime Minister was quoted as saying. ``I hope that amongst other things, it sends a message to people smugglers and others around the world that whilst this is a humanitarian country... we are not a soft touch,'' Mr. Howard said.

``It is our view that as a matter of international law, this matter is something that must be resolved between the Government of Indonesia and the Government of Norway,'' he said.

A Senator belonging to the Australian Green Party, Mr. Bob Brown, condemned the Howard Government's decision. ``It's harsh, it's inhuman, and it is going to create a rising resentment with other Governments, as well as many people who are more humanitarian within the Australian community. It is likely to lead to those people refusing to get off those boats and onto rescue ships in the future.''

Australia, which has come under fire from international human rights' groups for its policy towards ``illegal'' arrivals, follows a policy of mandatory detention of such persons.

Conditions in privatised detention centres, where the refugees are kept, have also been criticised.

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Section  : International
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