Pressure on Australian government increases 350 refugees who were drowned

THE GUARDIAN , SYDNEY
Thursday, Apr 08, 2004,Page 5

More than 350 refugees who were drowned in one of the worst maritime disasters of recent years were put on their boat by Indonesian police officers acting in cooperation with the Australian police, it was alleged in a Brisbane court on Tuesday.

The allegation increases the pressure on the Australian government, which has denied any responsibility for the deaths of 353 men, women and children when their wooden fishing boat sank in heavy seas 110km south of Java in October 2001.

Australian federal police officers in Jakarta have admitted that they were sponsoring the Indonesian police to disrupt people-smuggling operations at the time, but deny any connection with the sinking of the boat, which the Australian authorities codenamed Siev-X.

Mahmod Salem Yussef, a former Iraqi soldier who left the boat before it sailed, told the court that the Indonesian police had helped put passengers on to the Siev-X, and had been present at an earlier staging post in their journey.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/04/08/2003135829

Now Australian government is in the business of mass murder? Makes one wonder how wide spred is this type of activity if a relatively decent country such as Australia is doing it.

I wish. Not with "Honest" John Howard as our PM. Unfortunately, being tough on border protection has been a hit with voters, particulary the older ones who remember WWII and are terrified of the "asiatic hordes" 200 km to our north. We are the Israel of South East Asia.

:puke:This atrocity, if it gets enough publicity, will surely help change that attitude.

Did the Australian Government contribute to the deaths of 353 asylum-seekers?

146 children
142 women
65 men

http://www.sievx.com

The Australian Federal police paid 'double agents' to tell them when illegal immigrants boarded boats and left Indonesia bound for Australia, so they could be intercepted.


Of course it was in the interests of the 'double agents' that illegal immigrants board the boats in the first place...otherwise there would be nothing to report.

So essentially, the Australian government was paying people smugglers to smuggle people.