Australia goes to the polls today

By Amit Baruah

SINGAPORE, NOV. 9. The first casualties in the Australian ``war'' against refugee arrivals have occurred place even as 12.5 million voters prepare to go to the polls tomorrow to elect 150 members to the House of Representatives.

Two women asylum-seekers died after they jumped off a burning refugee boat near Ashmore island yesterday. After being intercepted by a navy ship, the asylum-seekers reportedly set fire to their boat in a desperate bid to get to Australia. Around 160 people were rescued, reports said.

The refugee issue seems to have come to haunt the Prime Minister, Mr. John Howard, whose ``tough stance'' against refugees has been one of the principal issues in the election. Just before the elections were announced, Mr. Howard won extensive public support for his decision not to allow refugees on board a Norwegian freighter to land in Australia. With the general elections tomorrow promising to be a close finish between the ruling Liberal-National coalition and the Opposition Labour Party, the deaths of the two women demonstrate the limits of Mr. Howard's approach to refugees.

The tough stance against the refugees has not led to any drop in arrivals.

Given the fact that those arriving in the boats are desperate people who have spent their last penny on buying a passage to Australia, the asylum-seekers are unlikely to be deterred.

The deaths of the two women, who jumped overboard as the other asylum-seekers set fire to the boat to prevent the Australian navy turning their vessel back into international waters, must come as a major embarrassment to the Howard Government.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : U.S. paying for past mistakes: Clinton
Next     : Robbie Williams, J-Lo go for gold at MTV awards