THE PEOPLE SMUGGLERS
by Robin De Crespigny, Penguin Books, 2012.“In determining appropriate sentences I have kept very much in mind that the present offences are by no means in the most serious category of offences contrary to section 232A. In particular, these are not cases of people smuggling where it is intended to introduce non-citizens into this country secretly and with all the dangers of illegal entrants carrying diseases, plant or animal life, which could pose a serious risk to Australia's primary production.
There was no attempt here by the prisoners to
hide from the authorities or disguise what they were doing. The offences,
whilst serious are correctly described as people trafficking offences rather
than people smuggling. Similarly it is significant that none of the prisoners
is an organiser. Each played a small but vital role in bringing non-citizens
here.”
These are the words of sentencing judges as they sent destitute Indonesian fishermen to prison, not for any crime at all – these are sentencing notes that have been available for 10 years on the SIEVX.com website and have been presented to the senate in various enquiries over the past 8 years yet now we have the absurd circumstance of jailing Indonesian children as young as 13 in adult prisons with rapists, thieves and murderers for this non-crime.
In each case it was stated that it was not
people smuggling but simply transporting the passengers directly to the
authorities as requested by the passengers who had mostly fled Iraq, Iran and
Afghanistan and most of whom had been tortured in Indonesia and Malaysia.
The problem is that it is not in any law in
the world but Australia anything to do with people smuggling as a new book
”the People Smuggler” by Robin Decrespigny has clearly shown and as international law dictates.
”the People Smuggler” by Robin Decrespigny has clearly shown and as international law dictates.
In 1999 Ruddock supported by Con Sciacca
brought in vicious penalties for anyone who assists refugees, including
Australians who helped them here.
In many cases going back to 2000 we have been jailing Indonesian children who strangely are all deemed to be 19 according to a now discredited X-ray test.
It has taken a decade but Hamish McDonald,
journalist on the Project, and Mark Plunkett, barrister, have brought to the
attention of the public that we are torturing young children in adult maximum
security jails for 5 years mandatory terms even though the courts have
maintained for over 12 years that they are not people smuggling.
The elephant in the room that is ignored by all the media and discarded by the government in senate committees is the “Smuggling of migrants protocol by land, sea and air” that Ruddock signed in 2000 and ratified through parliament in 2004.
Article 19 of that protocol states:
Nothing in this Protocol shall affect the other rights, obligations and responsibilities of States and individuals under international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law and, in particular, where applicable, the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees and the principle of nonrefoulement
as contained therein.”
The UNHCR were so concerned they went on to say in the pleniary hearings:
3. The Protocol against Smuggling, for instance, contains a number of provisions which may impact on smuggled asylum-seekers. The authorization to intercept vessels on the high seas, the obligation to strengthen border controls and to adopt sanctions for commercial carriers, or the commitment to accept the return of smuggled migrants may indeed affect those who seek international protection. A number of comparable provisions of the Protocol against Trafficking may have a similar effect.
4. During the sessions of the Ad-Hoc Committee, UNHCR therefore emphasized the need to reconcile measures to combat the smuggling of migrants and the trafficking of persons with existing obligations under international refugee law. The Office welcomes the adoption of a saving clause in both Protocols, designed to safeguard the rights of asylum-seekers and refugees under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, in particular in relation to the principle of non-refoulement.
5.
In addition, UNHCR appreciates the adoption of provisions for the
protection of smuggled migrants, such as the obligation of States Parties to
take appropriate measures to afford smuggled migrants protection against
violence and to take into account the special needs of women and children. The
Protocol against Smuggling is also clear in that it does not aim at punishing
persons for the mere fact of having been smuggled or at penalizing
organizations which assist such persons for purely humanitarian reasons.
Now the result of the government repeatedly ignoring every legal expert and human rights organisation is the country is:
1. Ali Jasmin, aged 13 on arrival, deemed to be
19 based only on a wrist x-ray taken by a gastroenterologist with no bone x-ray
experience and on the test which is itself discredited.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/05/05/the-tragedy-indonesia-s-international-diplomacy.html
2.
And so it
was in February 2010, when a teenager named Ardi headed down to the water. That
is his only name. He is 16, he believes, although he has no way of confirming
it. Few people here have more than a basic education -- Ardi made it to Year 3
-- which makes reading a luxury, and legal documentation like birth
certificates a rarity. He is an orphan, too.
3.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/tricked-boys-languish-in-adult-prison-20110613-1g0k0.html
4.
These children are all in adult prisons in breach of the law that says children should not be jailed but sent home. None of them had a lawyer prepared to enter their birth certificates in court because they are not nice and modern like ours, none of the judges noticed they were dealing with very young teenage boys, none of the prison guards spoke out, not one person pointed out in the media or courts that they were jailing children as young as 13.
To make it worse instead of using the smuggling protocol to protect those who merely assist refugees in their legal travels to seek asylum the government are keeping these children and hundreds of adults in prisons without charge until all refugee cases are settled.
Why you ask? Because until the claims have been settled the refugees who come by sea are not deemed to have entered Australia – they then arrive on an Australian jumbo and the Indonesians are charged with smuggling.
AS the Perth Chief Justice stated in March :it is risible to call it people smuggling”.
But the government are so determined to “send
a message” now 16 year old Ali Jasmin rots in Albany prison with murderers and
rapists.
