HNWA

Boat was not tracked from Indonesia: Bowen

2010-12-15T23:08:00.000-08:00

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen says a rumour the asylum seeker boat that crashed onto rocks at Christmas Island was tracked after it left Indonesia is untrue.

The bodies of 28 asylum seekers have been recovered so far after Wednesday morning's disaster.

Among the confirmed 42 survivors are three Indonesian crew members, the government says.

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The wooden Indonesian fishing boat had more than 70 people on board.

The men, women and children are believed to be of Iraqi, Iranian and Kurdish origin.

"The boat ... came to the attention of the relevant border protection agencies as it approached Christmas Island," Mr Bowen told Sky News on Thursday.

"But I think you've seen, and every Australian has seen, just how bad the seas were around Christmas Island at that time. They were treacherous seas which made contact made with that boat impossible."

Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor described the weather conditions as horrendous.

"There were ... cyclonic conditions. There were very high swells. There was low visibility," Mr O'Connor told reporters.

"Those who had fallen into the water and those that were engaged in the rescue were working in what was described as working in a washing machine of water. That's how rough the seas were."

Mr Bowen defended the speed with which the asylum seekers were given help, saying naval and Customs boats had to sail from a different part of the island where they had been sheltering from the poor weather.

"They were not at Flying Fish Cove. They were in a different part of the island some distance away.

"They were there because that is the best place to shelter during very, very rough seas. And they made it as quickly as possible to Flying Fish Cove to provide whatever assistance they could to the boat that was breaking up on the rocks."

Detention crisis can be avoided

2010-12-07T02:02:00.000-08:00

THE Coalition's pledge to stop the boats was no meaningless slogan and it worked.

GRUESOME protests, riots, brawls, self-harm, destruction of property and overcrowding have all returned to our immigration detention network.
If there are shoes to be thrown, then this government must take responsibility for the humanitarian consequences of its failed decisions on asylum policy.
The rolling crisis in immigration detention is the product of Labor's decision to dismantle the strong policy regime it inherited from the Coalition. Stopping the boats is not a slogan for the Coalition. It is the proven record and stated objective of our border protection and immigration policies.

Last week I addressed the Lowy Institute to discuss these issues. My purpose was not to announce new policy, but place the Coalition's proven policies in a broader international and regional context. My intention was to foster debate about where international refugee policy should be heading.
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.

The responses are not simple. Nor are they confined to any one measure. To focus on any one measure, as some have done, misses the more important point.
Refugee policy has become distracted by a myopic and misplaced global focus on developed country resettlement. We need to get the focus off resettlement and on to providing support to people in more desperate situations in countries of first asylum and to help people return safely home.
Domestic policies that encourage secondary movement of people, beyond their country of first asylum, to seek resettlement in countries such as Australia, work against this objective. They divert resources, policy effort and attention from the more desperate.

Western attention is too focused on the few presenting on our shores, at the expense of the many in greater need elsewhere.
Fewer than 1 per cent of the world's refugees will gain access to resettlement and 80 per cent of them live in developing countries. Furthermore, the reason more and more people will find themselves in this situation in the future will not be due to a specific fear of persecution, as defined by the UN Refugee Convention, but because of more general mortal threats, including war, famine, disease, corruption, natural disaster, economic collapse or any combination of the above.

Our international system, underpinned by the UN Refugee Convention and Protocol, is not designed or interpreted to address these threats and challenges. Our response must exist at three levels. First, domestic policy should not encourage or reward secondary movement or people smuggling. The policies we took to the last election remain our primary response and first line of defence.
Temporary protection visas, third-country processing in Nauru, safe return of boats where it can be done, presumption against refugee status for those who discard their documentation, tighter appeals processes consistent with UNHCR global practice, return of failed asylum-seekers and priority processing for off-shore humanitarian applications are the suite of measures the Coalition will employ to put our domestic settings in order.

At a regional level, we must continue the co-operative enforcement, security and intelligence work we commenced when last in government to frustrate people smuggling. We should not, however, set up a regional processing centre that draws more people to our region, as proposed by the Gillard government.
To make my point, I suggested that any genuine regional solution should not focus on Asia Pacific, where we do not have a regional refugee crisis, but on central Asia, where we do.

Afghanistan accounts for one in four of the world's refugees. About 2.4 million Afghans are living in Pakistan and Iran.
Such a solution should be driven by the international community, in particular the UNHCR, not unilaterally by Australia.

The agreement should seek to deliver greater support to countries of first asylum, such as Pakistan and Iran, from the international community to improve living conditions in the camps. It should facilitate an orderly return program for safe transfer back to Afghanistan and it should work to prevent secondary movement to other parts of the world.
This is not a new idea. It is modelled on the successful arrangements put in place in the late 1970s and late 80s to deal with the Indochinese refugee crisis at that time.

Australia's response was to increase our resettlement intake to 20,000 a year and to support the establishment of offshore processing centres, including at Galang in Indonesia.
Between 1976 and 1989, just over 2000 people arrived in Australia by boat. We have had more people arrive by boat since the election.
Australia's involvement in any internationally agreed refugee solution for central Asia should involve increasing our intake of Afghan refugees from processing centres established by the UNHCR and returning any Afghan asylum-seekers who have sought to enter Australia, to those or other centres established in central Asia for that purpose.

This suggestion is put forward to highlight the approach the UNHCR should be taking more broadly to address the issue of irregular people movement, and to demonstrate the misdirected nature of the Gillard government's proposal for East Timor.
There is also the issue of the Refugee Convention and Protocol. Our commitment should be to the world's refugees, not to an imperfect document written post World War II and updated in the 60s, struggling to meet contemporary demands.
The convention's great success is to have established the principle of non-refoulement in international law. Its great failure is to advantage those who present in a signatory country, over those who languish in camps in countries of first asylum.

The victims of this inequity are the immobile, those without the resources, strength or flexibility to make the journey and pay the smuggler. In most cases this means women and children.
This inequity can only be addressed by taking on the issue of secondary movement. That is where we must now focus the refugee debate.
Scott Morrison is opposition spokesman on immigration.

Reporter: Scott Morrison
The Australian

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Out dated Government rejects refugees claims

2010-07-21T01:19:00.000-07:00

LATEST NEWS

Published by MAZ

The Australian Government have recently implemented a new view on the issue of Asylum seekers who arrive by boat to Australia. The government have decided that further arrivals of Refugees by boat who are from Afghanistan or Sri Lankan nationality will have their claims suspended for 6 and 3 months respectively. It is suggested by the Government that the official channels such as UNHCR should be used, but there are many views on this suggestion as it differs from individual applicants. The government have had independent reviews of Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, as a result believes that such countries, are stable in all forms or are becoming stable to a reasonable level. The majority of the asylum seekers who arrive by boat to Australia from Afghanistan are Hazara people. During the independent review, Hazara’s were prosecuted in many regions of Afghanistan, on the bases of cultural differences, religious beliefs and political ideologies. Since the independent review, all asylum seekers who arrived later than the 9th of April 2010 will have their claims suspended. Since the independent review, the situation has worsened in Hazara situated regions, such as Behsud, Daimerdad and many other regions in which Hazara’s live. The areas of Behsud and Daimerdad have become occupied by Kochi’s since the finalisation of the Independent review; as a result the independent review is not a valid source for the Australian Government to use, in terms of suspending the Hazara asylum seekers claims for a refugee status.

Kochi’s have attacked these areas and have burned all forms of shelter as well as killing all those who stand on their way, or are of Hazara ethnicity. It is believed that more than 50 people are dead, more than a dozen children are among those, and all of those are of Hazara ethnicity. All residents (estimated to be 10,000 people) from those areas have become refugees, and are fleeing their home for protection in other areas. More than fifty education facilities have been burned down and many religious landmarks have been destroyed, such as Mosques.

While such discrimination is happening, more than 30 Hazara’s who have claimed for refugee status have had their claims rejected and the Australian Government believes that they are not in risk of being prosecuted when they return to their home country. The Australian Government still follows the out dated Independent review on assessing the claims of those who are in detention centres around Australia.

This border security is becoming a battle ground for this year’s election, as well as the mining tax subject. To contribute to the Rudd Government’s declining popularity according to independent polls, will be the subject of the war against terrorists (Al-Qaida/ Taliban). Recent tragedy have increased the casualties of Australian soldiers in Afghanistan, with two soldiers dead on the same day, taking the dead toll to 15 since the beginning of the operation and the highest since the Vietnam war. Both the Labour and Liberal party are yet to make any comments or suggestions on weather Australia are committed for the long run, or is there any progress since the beginning of the whole operation. There is growing concern within the country as to whether the war in such a region is important to the country and there are doubts as to the prospects of stability within the region, despite a bloody battle for 9 years.

Reporter MAZ

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ABC Four Corners: Get your voice heard

2010-03-19T05:11:00.000-07:00

HAZARA NEWS WA EXCLUSIVE

LATEST NEWS: Friday 19th March

HNWA has been in contact with ABC Four Corners, and HNWA would like to publish the following information with respect to ABC Four Corners (Karen Michelmore). The following images are the relevent documents that HNWA have permission to post:

For more info with respect to the given documents please conatact

Karen Michelmore
Michelmore.Karen@abc.net.au
Researcher
Four Corners
ABC TV

or

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32 asylum seekers rescued off Australian coast

2010-03-12T04:57:00.000-08:00

LATEST NEWS: 2100 WAST (2 hours ago)

Australia rescued 32 people seeking asylum this week after spotting them floating on boats off the country's northwest coast.

The asylum seekers were spotted on two different boats Thursday sailing near the Tiwi Islands, the Australian Ministry of Home Affairs said. The group said they wanted to come to Australia.

The two separate rescues highlights the problem of smugglers taking asylum seekers on these dangerous trips, Australian officials said.

"People smuggling is a deplorable act with organizers putting innocent people's lives at risk. The Australian government is pleased that the group is safe," said Brendan O' Connor, minister for home affairs.

Australian officials did not say what country the asylum seekers were from. In the past, Australian officials have strongly criticized human traffickers.

Last year Prime Minister Kevin Rudd attacked smugglers after an explosion aboard a boat carrying Afghan refugees killed three people and injured more than 40 others near Ashmore.

"People smugglers are engaged in the world's most evil trade and they should all rot in jail because they represent the absolute scum of the earth," Rudd said at the time.
-CNN

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More than 100 passengers: Asylum-seekers `on the beaches', Coalition claims

2010-03-07T16:36:00.000-08:00

ASYLUM-SEEKERS could soon breach Australia's borders and arrive "on our beaches" if the latest boat arrival off the coast of Western Australia is any guide, the opposition claimed yesterday.

Two boat arrivals in 24 hours, with more than 100 passengers on board, have prompted concerns that the government's offshore processing centre at Christmas Island could soon reach capacity.

The latest boat arrived 25 nautical miles northwest of Adele Island, which is about 100km off the Kimberley coast, carrying 28 passengers and two crew.

"This boat was intercepted only a stone's throw from Western Australia's coast," opposition border and customs spokesman Michael Keenan said yesterday.

"How much longer will it be before they begin to arrive on our beaches?

"The public deserves an explanation as to how this latest arrival was allowed to get within 100km of Western Australia."

Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said the Rudd government was on track for record boat arrivals following the watering down of the Coalition's border control policies since the election -- a claim the government dismissed yesterday as using selective data.

There are 1914 asylum-seekers and 28 crew being held on Christmas Island, which has a current capacity of 2040.

Those numbers do not include the 31 passengers and crew picked up yesterday near Adele Island.

The government remains committed to offshore processing on Christmas Island because this allows the commonwealth to restrict the legal avenues asylum-seekers have to appeal against rejected claims for refugee status.

But West Australian Premier Colin Barnett warned yesterday that the government's policies were "falling short", and said boatpeople were being sent the wrong message.

"Australia may well need to look at another detention area," Mr Barnett said.

"I would prefer not on the mainland. Once people get on to the Australian mainland they automatically get a further set of rights, and this is putting huge cost to the Australian community," the Premier said.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship is already using tents to ease Christmas Island's accommodation shortage and hopes to buy more land to build staff accommodation.

If the department can build new accommodation, asylum-seeker family groups could be moved out of a cramped construction camp and into some of the department-owned accommodation where 288 immigration workers now live.

Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said yesterday the conflicts in Asia were responsible for the surge in asylum-seekers.

"We are expanding capacity at Christmas Island to meet anticipated needs," Ms Gillard said.
-The Australian

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Navy intercepts asylum seeker boat: 57 asylum seekers

2010-03-03T16:51:00.000-08:00

LATEST NEWS: 0854 WAST

The 17th asylum seeker boat to arrive in Australian waters this year has been intercepted near Christmas Island off the coast of north-west Australia.

57 people were on board the latest asylum seekers boat which was intercepted by the navy.

A statement from Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor said the boat was intercepted by HMAS Wollongong last night, 13 nautical miles away from Christmas Island.

Fifty-seven people are on board the boat.

They are now being taken to Christmas Island for health and security checks.
-ABC

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Asylum-seekers spark change to ASIO mandate

2010-02-27T05:37:00.000-08:00

Australia's domestic spy agency will soon have the power to crack people-smuggling syndicates using bases overseas as the government beefs up its border protection laws.

Beset by a steady flow of asylum-seeker boats, the government last night announced plans to extend ASIO's mandate beyond the prevention of espionage and terrorism.

The Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, the Immigration Minister, Chris Evans, and the Home Affairs Minister, Brendan O'Connor, outlined changes that would allow ASIO to investigate foreign intelligence that it was previously stopped from pursuing.

Australians who fund people-smuggling ventures, and those who seek to exploit asylum seekers and endanger lives, will face fines of up to $220,000 or 20 years' jail under the plan.

David McKnight, associate professor of journalism at the University of NSW who has written extensively about ASIO, said the changes underlined a shift in ASIO's responsibilities.

''This is quite a significant change. It highlights a trend that's pushing ASIO into the investigation of crimes rather than national security. The tendency is for ASIO to operate more like a police force.''

The government will also expand ASIO's ability to tap phones and intercept communications by allowing it to target non-state actors, such as criminal groups.
-SMH

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Local police chief `fooled'; migrants flee to Australia: 45 Asylum seekers from Afghanistan have fled

2010-02-27T05:27:00.000-08:00

LATEST NEWS: 2130 WAST

Up to 41 asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Turkey fled to Australia by chartered boat after a local police chief was said to have been fooled by a telephone caller who is now suspected to have been a people smuggler.

An unidentified caller who claimed he was an official at the National Police headquarters in Jakarta ordered West Sabu Police chief First Insp. Kalansansius Dhosa to release the asylum seekers then in his custody.

The caller, now suspected to have been a member of a human trafficking ring in West Nusa Tenggara, asked the West Sabu Police to release the asylum seekers because they were about to be moved to Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara.

As the boat containing the asylum seekers arrived at the Sabu Raijua Port, it suddenly changed course and headed off in the direction of Australia.

East Nusa Tenggara Police chief Brig. Gen. Antonius Bambang Suedi confirmed the details of the escape.

"The caller is believed to have been at the port, so when the immigrants arrived, they were immediately placed on the boat to Australia," said Bambang.

"According to the explanation from the West Sabu Police chief, he was tricked into releasing the immigrants without police escort and allowing them to continue their trip to Kupang. It *then* turned out that the boat was not going to Kupang but headed instead in the direction of Australia," he added.

But the police account was challenged by a local Sabu community leader, Markus Dima, who claimed that the asylum seekers bought their freedom by bribing the police, as reported by AP.

Bambang said the fleeing group had most likely already arrived at Ashmore Island, a low-lying uninhabited Australian territory bordering Indonesia. The group of islands concerned were previously sometimes considered part of the Rote Ndao Regency of East Nusa Tenggara and have been used by traditional Indonesian fishermen.

The group of asylum seekers had entered Indonesian territory illegally because they did not have visas. They had been detained for six weeks at the police station at Sabu.

The escapees were part of a group of 55 immigrants detained on Sabu Island since Jan. 13. The other 14 are being held in Kupang.

Bambang said he had asked police at the Sabu Raijua Port to hold the immigrants until immigration authorities arrived, but they were cheated by an unidentified caller. "We will examine the West Sabu Police chief," he said.

Before fleeing, the illegal boat people had reportedly threatened to commit suicide if forced to move to Kupang. The asylum seekers, mostly men, reportedly attempted suicide by banging their heads on the wall, hitting their heads with hard objects and jumping at passing cars.

Australia is seeking greater cooperation from Indonesian authorities to stem the growing flow of asylum seekers passing through the archipelago with the help of people smugglers and poor fishermen.

Uninhabited Ashmore island is said to be a popular destination for asylum seekers traveling by boat because setting foot there ensures Australian officials will process refugee claims under UN rules, says AP.

Last year, authorities were able to foil attempts to smuggle around 500 illegal immigrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and a number of other countries to Australia, also via the East Nusa Tenggara route.
-The Jakarta Post

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Asylum seeker boat intercepted near Ashmore Islands carrying 10 passengers

2010-02-27T05:17:00.000-08:00

A SUSPECTED asylum seeker boat with 10 passengers aboard has been intercepted near the Ashmore Islands of northwestern Australia.

It is the 14th boat to have arrived in Australian waters so far in 2010.

Border Protection Command said the boat was intercepted at 11.35am (AEDT) today, 16 nautical miles north of the Ashmore Islands.

There are believed to be 10 passengers on board, along with three crew members, a statement from Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor's office said.

They will be taken to Christmas Island where they will undergo security, identity and health checks.
-NEWS.COM

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Indonesia stops 93 AFGHAN asylum seekers

2010-02-27T04:55:00.000-08:00

LATEST NEWS: 2055 WAST

Indonesian police say they are detaining 93 Afghan asylum seekers suspected of trying to reach Australia.

Lt. Col. Herukoco, chief of Sukabumi district police, says police stopped three minibuses carrying the Afghans including five woman and three children early Saturday in Indonesia's West Java province near Jakarta.

Herukoco, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, says the group told police they left their war-ravaged homeland to start new lives as refugees in Australia.

He says the group did not have Indonesian visas and has been transferred to an immigration detention centre while their identities are confirmed.
-AP

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Questions raised over mystery asylum boat: 105 feared drowned

2010-02-20T17:15:00.000-08:00

The family of an Afghan man who's gone missing en route to Australia have called on the Federal Government to find out what may have happened to him. The family fears that Mirza Hussain Jaffari was on a boat which may have sunk after leaving Indonesia in October.

Last month, members of the Afghan community in Brisbane expressed concern about the vessel, which they think had more than 100 people on board. But the Australian Government says it knows nothing about the boat.

In early October, Mirza Hussain Jaffari apparently called his family from Indonesia, saying he was on a boat about to head towards Australia. He said 107 people were on the boat, which was new.

Mirza Hussain Jaffari's cousin, Jaffar Hussain, is speaking from Afghanistan.

JAFFAR HUSSAIN: Mirza Hussain Jaffari spoke to his family in early October, probably the 2nd of October at midnight when he last time called his family and said that he's now leaving for Australia by boat.

DAVID WEBER: He did not say where he was leaving from?

JAFFAR HUSSAIN: No he did not mention about the place he was leaving from because he was, maybe he didn't thought it necessary because his family doesn't know about Indonesia at all. He said that there are other Hazaras, other Afghans, who are on board.

DAVID WEBER: Why did Mirza Hussain Jaffari leave Afghanistan?

JAFFAR HUSSAIN: There are various reasons. The first thing is really security and political instability in Afghanistan. These village has been under attack for the last three years by Taliban-supported Kuchi tribes.

DAVID WEBER: Does he have a wife and children?

JAFFAR HUSSAIN: No he does not have a wife and children. He has a mother, three sisters, one younger brother.

DAVID WEBER: So it was a big decision for him to go because he had people relying on him in Afghanistan?

JAFFAR HUSSAIN: Yes it was a very difficult decision for him and we also don't know how he paid thousands of dollars to smugglers to take him to Australia. Where did he find it from? Maybe he sold a part of his land or something.

DAVID WEBER: Mr Hussain has called on the Australian Government to hold an investigation, and release any information it may have.

JAFFAR HUSSAIN: If they are in the custody of the Australian Government, if they are held in any detention centres, the families have not heard from their relatives for last three months and they are very much concerned and worried.

If the Australian Government does not have any information about the boat, we appeal from the Government of Australia to contact the authorities in Indonesia and start a search and rescue operation for them.

DAVID WEBER: A spokesman for the Federal Government says there's no evidence that a boatload of more than 100 people left Indonesia on or about October the 2nd and he says it's only speculation that a vessel sank.
-ABC

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Asylum seeker boat intercepted: 41 Passengers

2010-02-18T06:56:00.000-08:00

Latest News: 2300 WAST

Another boat carrying asylum seekers has been intercepted off Australia's north coast.

The boat carrying 41 passengers and four crew was found north-west of Ashmore Islands.

The Federal Government says those on board will be taken to Christmas island for health, security and identity checks.

Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison says the number of asylum seekers arriving in Australia is out of control.

"This year in 2010 we've had 13 boats arrive, we've had more than 700 people arrive on those boats in just seven weeks," he said.

"This is an extraordinary level of arrivals for a new year. In this period of time it took six months last year to have that many people arrive, so it really is escalating.

"If it continues at this rate at 100 people a week, then we could see 5,000 people arrive this year.

"That would eclipse all previous records and they're arriving because of the policies of this Government.

"Last year, the UNHCR's own figures for the nine months to September showed that Australia's asylum applications increased five times as much as they did around the world."

Meanwhile, the NT inquest into the deaths of five Afghan asylum seekers who were killed when their boat exploded last April heard criminal charges could be laid.

Three Afghan refugees are accused of deliberately setting fire to the SIEV 36 near Ashmore Reef.

Counsel assisting the coroner, Stephen Walsh, QC, said the evidence suggested that the three Afghan refugees acted together to implement a plan and the explosion was caused by a series of deliberate acts.

Mr Walsh told the inquest the fatal explosion could have been prevented if the Navy had fully searched the SIEV 36, secured the unleaded petrol on board, and confiscated all matches and lighters.
-ABC

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IMPORTANT NEWS TO THE PUBLIC: 105 Afghan Asylum Seekers

2010-02-14T22:51:00.000-08:00

Hazara News Western Australia

It is believed that 105 Afghan asylum seekers have been feared to have drowned on the month of October 2009. As a result, several inquiries have been made to HNWA from relatives and friends of those who might be aboard that boat.

One enquiry is from: Sayed Ali'Sha
The following are the names of his relatives and friends who are originated from "Malistan" a town in Afghanistan:

+ Sayed Sha Chaman
+ Dawood
+ Kazim
+ Sarwar'Sha
+ [hajiawgho]* * note: name may be spelled incorrectly

To contact Sayed Ali'Sha for more on that bases: hussaini516@yahoo.com

If you believe that you might know any one from that boat or in fact any relative info regarding the asylum seekers, then please don't hesitate to contact us at hazaranewswa@yahoo.com or visit us at www.hazarawa.blogspot.com

To contact Hazara News Western Australia: hazaranewswa@yahoo.com

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Abbott vows to stop asylum seekers: 48 asylum seekers arrive

2010-02-13T06:15:00.000-08:00

A coalition government would return to a hardline stance on asylum seekers, turning some boats back and creating a class of visas which don't confer permanent residency to those granted protection.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott made the Liberal Party's intentions clear in Darwin on Saturday, warning that at the current rate there was likely to be 5000 asylum seekers arrive by boat by the end of the year.

He said Labor had inherited a robust and effective border protection system but it had been progressively unwound, paving the way for the current border crisis.

"I am concerned that people are going to be brought directly to the mainland," he told reporters.

"And it seems that under Mr Rudd, boat people have got a highway to Australia and it's no wonder that they keep coming."

Mr Abbott said the opposition had formed a special shadow cabinet committee to formulate strategies to stop the flow of asylum seeker arrivals, which could be implemented from day one of a coalition government.

An effective border protection policy required four key elements, starting with a rigorous commitment to offshore processing, he said.

It would also feature a special visa category for unauthorised arrivals to ensure that permanent residency was not an automatic right while governments should be prepared, under the right circumstances, to turn back boats.

"The coalition is committed to pursuing policies based on these principles to ensure that Australia's borders are safe," Mr Abbott said in a joint statement with opposition justice and customs spokesman Michael Keenan and immigration spokesman Scott Morrison.

The coalition committee will comprise Mr Keenan as convenor, Mr Morrison, opposition deputy leader Julie Bishop, defence spokesman David Johnston, shadow attorney-general George Brandis, opposition parliamentary secretary Jason Wood and former coalition immigration minister Philip Ruddock.

But a spokesman for Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor said the Rudd government already did much of what Mr Abbott proposed, while other elements were a return to discredited coalition policies with which Mr Ruddock was associated.

"It's essentially working back to the Howard policies of the past and we are not surprised by that," he said.

The spokesman said the government already worked extensively with source countries and regional nations to stem the flow of asylum seekers while the former Howard government had tried temporary protection visas - and they proved a dismal failure.

The major point of difference was the proposal to turn boats around, he said.

"Our current policy which we think is working is that we escort boats, if they are seaworthy, to Christmas Island where their claims are processed."

The most recent boat arrived in Australian waters on Friday evening, the 12th so far this year.

The vessel, intercepted by a navy patrol boat off Ashmore Island, carried 48 passengers and two crew.

A total of 667 asylum seekers have arrived by boat this year and all have been transported to Christmas Island for processing.

The government is planning to expand the facility from its current 1800 bed capacity to 2300.
-AAP

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Asylum seekers threaten suicide-57 asylum seekers in Indonesian detention centre

2010-02-10T19:13:00.000-08:00

A GROUP of 57 asylum seekers shipwrecked en route to Australia is refusing to enter an Indonesian detention centre, with at least three threatening suicide.

The Afghans were left stranded on the eastern Indonesian island of Sabu when their boat was ruined by heavy seas on January 13.

Indonesian authorities now want to move the asylum seekers into a detention centre in nearby Kupang, in West Timor.

But the Afghans - 50 men, five women and two children - insist they want to continue their journey to Australia.

"Two tried to commit suicide by banging their heads into a wall," senior local official Dominggus Widu Hau said.
"One tried to slit his wrist, but it didn't happen.

"They are now in better condition and have joined their friends again."

Officials from the International Organisation for Migration are in talks with the Afghans, who are being housed in an old mosque, Widu Hau said.
-Herald Sun

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Asylum-seeker boat sneaks into Christmas Island cove: 181 Asylum Seekers

2010-02-01T07:46:00.000-08:00

LATEST NEWS: 2350 WAST

THE Department of Immigration and Citizenship was taken by surprise yesterday when Christmas Island residents spotted a large boat carrying almost 200 asylum-seekers motoring into Flying Fish Cove.

Residents of the suburb known as The Kampong saw the boat from the windows of their waterfront flats as it approached the jetty shortly after 3pm local time yesterday (7pm AEDT).

The navy vessel HMAS Larrakia was standing off the cove when the boat arrived, and Immigration officers rushed to the scene.

Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor said last night the boat had 181 passengers, including women and children, and four crew on board. It is understood some of those on board are Hazaras from Afghanistan.

The process of unloading the asylum-seekers began about 4pm.

They are the ninth boatload of asylum-seekers to be unloaded at Christmas Island this year.

Before this boatload, there were 1595 asylum-seekers in the island's detention centre, which has a capacity of 1848.
-The Australian

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Asylum seekers charged over riot

2010-01-27T17:31:00.000-08:00

LATEST NEWS: 0930 WAST

Australian Federal Police have charged 11 asylum seekers following a brawl at a detention centre on Christmas Island that left 40 people injured.

Police say the men, aged between 21 and 36, face a total of 23 charges including riot, assault and possessing weapons.

The charges relate to a fight at the North West Point Immigration Detention Centre on November 21 last year.

It is understood the men appeared before the Christmas Island Magistrates Court on Wednesday afternoon.

Ian Rintoul from the Refugee Action Coalition says the conditions at the detention centre, not the asylum seekers, are to blame for the riot.

"At the time we were told there was no damage to the detention centre," he said.

"It just seems to me to be entirely vindictive that the Federal Police and the Government are pursuing the asylum seekers for a fight that was really created by conditions inside the detention centre."

Last year it was reported that 150 Afghan and Sri Lankan asylum seekers attacked each other with pool cues, tree branches and broom handles.

Staff at the centre brought the riot under control within 30 minutes.

Thirty-seven detainees received medical treatment on the island and another three were flown to Perth with broken bones. Five security staff were also injured in the clash.

Refugee campaigners said overcrowding led to the violence, but the Government said tension had been building at the centre for some time, due partly to concerns from some Sri Lankans that their asylum applications would fail.

At the time, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the riot could affect the refugee applications of the asylum seekers involved.
-ABC

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Australian of the Year sets off debate on asylum seeker detention; Professor Patrick McGorry

2010-01-27T17:22:00.000-08:00

LATEST NEWS: 0930 WAST

He's been Australian of the Year for just a day, but acclaimed psychiatrist Professor Patrick McGorry has spent it embroiled in controversy. Professor McGorry accepted his award, and then touched off a new row on the politically volatile issue of asylum seekers by pointing out the mentally corrosive effects of Australia's detention policies. He woke to find newspaper headlines declaring it an attack on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on the issue.

MOTTRAM: Australians have long prided themselves on the 'fair go' and frank speaking. So it should perhaps have been no surprise to the Australian government that this year's Australian of the Year, internationally renowned psychiatrist Professor Patrick McGorry, would speak about the mental health implications of 15 years of detaining asylum seekers.

McGORRY: The detention centres were, you could almost describe them as factories for producing mental illness and mental disorder.

MOTTRAM: Immigration detention had been an "absolute disaster" that Australia must not repeat, Professor McGorry said, citing research in such august journals as The Lancet and adding that he was talking about previous policy. But his reference to past practices was not enough to prevent major newspapers from splashing headlines like: "Australian of the Year attacks Rudd over refugees".

At a time the Professor was especially empowered to sell his message about continuing shortfalls in mental health policy in Australia generally, he was having to clarify his immigration detention views.

McGORRY: I actually said that the Rudd Government was doing an excellent job of digging us out of a very deep hole, they may not have got to the top of the hole yet but I was trying to encourage them to keep going and I certainly wasn't critical of the present Government's policies. The direction of them is very good.

MOTTRAM: The Professor managed to briefly stop the Prime Minister at yet another Australia Day event to explain his comments. And while Mr Rudd was reassuring, it's unlikely the government will have welcomed a new spotlight on the contentious issue. The Opposition leader, Tony Abbott, deflected the Professor's criticism of immigration detention as applied under the previous government of which Mr Abbott was a member and will doubtless feature in another day's newspaper and television coverage of the issue.

ABBOTT: The pity of the current government's policies is because they've sent the wrong signal to people smugglers, you've got more people coming, you've got more people in detention and you 've got more people who give rise to the kind of concerns that Professor McGorry has expressed.

MOTTRAM: Those pressing a human rights based view of the issue, like the Australian Greens, seized the chance to stress that while other remote detention centres have been closed, the Rudd government retains the centre on Christmas Island, that's now almost full.

HANSON-YOUNG: They are inappropriate facilities. And we must not forget that there are also children detained there. So the impact on their mental health is quite severe.

MOTTRAM: The Immigration minister Chris Evans, also at a noisy Australia Day ceremony, defended the government's efforts to protect the health of detainees, particularly attempts to speed up processing times.

EVANS: One of the reasons its been proven to be more dangerous if you like than prison sentences is that people don't know when they're going to get out. They've got no idea how long they were to be kept there. That was the system under the Howard government. We've vastly improved the detention facilities, the support they get and the processing times and so I think we've got the balance right.

MOTTRAM: But after his initial embarassment at coverage of his remarks Professor McGorry, who's particular specialty is youth mental health, continued to speak to the media about immigration detention and its impact on those who've often already experienced torture and trauma. And he says he wants to visit the Christmas Island facility during his tenure as Australian of the Year.
-ABC RADIO

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Authorities intercept eighth asylum boat this year; 48 passengers and 3 crew

2010-01-27T17:16:00.000-08:00

LATEST NEWS: 0930 WAST
AUTHORITIES have intercepted another boatload of suspected asylum-seekers in Australian waters -- the eighth this year.

Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor said the boat, carrying 48 passengers and three crew, was intercepted by HMAS Launceston just before midnight on Tuesday, 12 nautical miles northeast of Ashmore Reef.

Mr O'Connor said the asylum-seekers had been transferred

to a Customs ship and would be taken to Christmas Island for "security, identity and health checks".

Former federal police commissioner Mick Palmer, who headed the inquiry into the wrongful detention of Cornelia Rau for 10 months in 2004 and 2005, called for asylum-seekers to be brought to the mainland.

Mr Palmer said the experience of detention was inherently stressful for refugees, many of whom were victims of war or torture, meaning they required specialist carers and counselling services.

"The current overcrowding on Christmas Island would make that level of care very difficult," Mr Palmer told The Australian.

According to the Immigration Department, there are 1564 people on Christmas Island, 200 of whom are living in tents. The facility was designed for just 400 people but has been reconfigured to hold 1848 following the arrival last year of almost 3000 boatpeople.

Mr Palmer said he fully understood the dilemma governments faced in managing refugee flows.

"But we should never allow the ends to justify the means," he said.

His comments follow those of newly named Australian of the Year Patrick McGorry, who labelled detention centres "factories" for mental illness.
-THE AUSTRALIAN

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Asylum seekers blocked from rescue boat, inquest told

2010-01-27T17:11:00.000-08:00

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LATEST NEWS: 0913 WAST

A member of the Australian Defence Force raised his foot and connected with the heads of two asylum seekers to block them from clambering onto a rescue boat, an inquest has heard.

Corporal Sharon Jager has told a coronial inquest that she was blown into the water by a blast on the SIEV 36 asylum seeker boat near Ashmore Reef last April.

The incident left five Afghan asylum seekers dead.

Corporal Jager said her life jacket did not open and she was struggling to get onto a Navy boat that had come to rescue her.

"[Able Seaman Adrian Medbury] has moved along and he has physically removed the two asylum seekers, saying 'Get the f--- off her, get the f--- of her' as he dragged me into the boat," she told the inquest.

"I saw him raise one of his feet, connect with the asylum seekers, from what I saw it was the head."

The inquest has previously heard that Navy personnel rescued members of the Defence Force before asylum seekers, which is Navy procedure.

Earlier, the naval officer in charge of the boat shortly before it exploded broke down while giving evidence.

The inquest has already heard evidence the fire on the SIEV 36 was deliberately lit with matches or a cigarette lighter.

Chief Petty Officer Faunt told the inquest if he had been in charge of the naval party that first boarded the boat he would have confiscated lighters and matches, whether or not there was petrol on board.

Later, when he was on board the boat, he did not have enough manpower to take the items from the passengers.

But he said in hindsight he should have removed matches from the boat's cabin.

Chief Faunt has suffered post traumatic stress disorder since the fatal blast in April last year.

He was overcome with emotion when asked how much sleep he had had in the time leading up to the explosion, leading to the inquest being briefly adjourned.

He said Navy personnel did not stand back and were active in rescuing the boat's passengers.

The inquest continues.
-ABC

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105 ethnic Hazaras feared drowned

2010-01-18T22:49:00.000-08:00

A boatload of asylum seekers believed to have set off from Indonesian waters for Australia in October has never arrived, the Afghani refugee community says.

Brisbane-based Hassan Ghulam said worried relatives of 105 ethnic Hazaras believed to have left Indonesia on October 2 had started contacting him weeks ago.

Hazara are a Persian-speaking ethnic group who live mainly in the central region of Afghanistan.
"A young gentleman, he had a brother on that boat, he contacted me (saying) that the boat departed Indonesia on October 2 with 105 Hazaras on it," Mr Ghulam said.

"He asked if I had heard anything on the arrivals because he had had no news for quite some time."
Mr Ghulam said other Australian-based Hazaras who had learnt that their relatives were on the boat had become anxious.

Checks with the Department of Immigration and Customs and Border Protection had revealed nothing about the fate of the boat or those on board, Mr Ghulam said.
Contacts of the men had travelled to Indonesia and checked detention centres but had found no sign of them, he said.

"There was no news at all. The gentleman contacted me again and he had no news," Mr Ghulam said.
"He told me there were people who made inquiries, travelled to Indonesia, checked the detention centres et cetera and there is no sign of the 105 people."

Jack Smit of human rights group Project SafeCom Inc said it was important to know what happened to the boat and what happened during the voyage.
"If it was monitored by Indonesia on behalf of the Australian government, we need to know whether it was intercepted by Indonesian authorities," Mr Smit said.

"Conversely, if its voyage was monitored in Australian waters by Australian maritime and border protection authorities, we need to know what happened to the boat. If the boat perished, we need to hear that from the authorities."
A Department of Immigration spokeswoman said the department could not reveal the identities of asylum seekers being processed for their own protection.

But asylum seekers are granted access to telephones to contact their families on arrival, she said.
-The West

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Visa denial leaves refugees in detention-Potentially Australian Guantanamo Bay

2010-01-11T23:17:00.000-08:00

LATEST NEWS: 1530 WAST-12/01/2010

The Federal Government says a fifth Tamil refugee has been refused a visa to live in Australia, leaving him, his wife and their children in detention limbo on Christmas Island.

There is pressure now on the Immigration Department to resettle the refugees in another country, prompting outspoken Liberal backbencher Wilson Tuckey to label Christmas Island as "potentially Australia's Guantanamo Bay".

The department earlier today confirmed that three Sri Lankan men and a woman who were on board the Oceanic Viking had been denied visas because ASIO decided they pose a security risk.

The woman has two young children and all three are being detained on Christmas Island.

Immigration Minister Chris Evans says the woman's husband has now also been refused a visa.

"There is an additional person who around the same time was found by our security agencies to have not met the public interest criteria in terms of his security assessment," Senator Evans said.

"It is the case that this man is the spouse of the mother of the two children who was onboard the Oceanic Viking."

Senator Evans will not say why the five have been refused visas.

"I don't know the nature of ASIO's finding, so I couldn't help you if I wanted to. But as you know, I wouldn't anyway," he said.

The Federal Government had promised 78 Sri Lankans quick processing to coax them off the Oceanic Viking and into an Indonesian detention centre.

Some of them have been resettled in Australia or Canada.

A spokeswoman for the Immigration Department has said Australia is continuing to search for another country to resettle them.

She said they could also choose to leave Australia voluntarily.

Mr Tuckey, who last year said he was worried terrorists could be on board boats of asylum seekers, says the Government will have difficulty resettling the visa-less refugees in another country.

"Christmas Island is now potentially Australia's Guantanamo Bay," he said.

"We could end up holding that facility in operation for years as luxury accommodation for people whom we won't let come to Australia, and yet at the same time will not be wanted by anyone else."

Opposition treasury spokesman, Joe Hockey, says Mr Tuckey has been vindicated for raising security concerns.

"More fool Kevin Rudd for coming out and saying that Wilson Tuckey should apologise," Mr Hockey said.

"I think Wilson's had a win there. He deserves recognition for the fact that of course there are going to be risks with unsolicited arrivals in Australia."

Final say
The Greens Leader, Bob Brown, says ASIO should not have the final say on whether the Tamil refugees are fit to live in Australia.

Senator Brown says the system needs to be changed.

"The last thing the Rudd Government should do is leave ASIO to be the arbiter of who comes into this country and who doesn't, to quote John Howard who gave such extraordinary powers to ASIO to determine the lives of Australians generally," Senator Brown said.

He says major determinations made by the spy agency should be scrutinised by a parliamentary committee.

"That scrutiny must be there. We must never in a democracy leave ASIO to be making decisions in such matters without there being careful scrutiny by the parliament itself," he said.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says Mr Rudd has created the problem "by caving in to the would-be unauthorised arrivals on the Oceanic Viking".
-ABC

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76 asylum seekers intercepted

2010-01-03T23:34:00.001-08:00

LATEST NEWS: 04/01/2010 @ 1530 WAST

The Federal Government says another boat carrying asylum seekers has been intercepted in Australia's northern waters.

The latest boat was detected yesterday about three nautical miles north of Christmas Island.

The Government says there are 76 passengers and four crew on board the vessel.

They have been taken to Christmas Island for health, security and identity checks.
-ABC

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Customs intercepts 60th asylum boat with 58 passengers aboard

2009-12-31T22:55:00.000-08:00

LATEST NEWS-1500 WAST

A BOAT carrying 58 passengers and four crew was intercepted by Customs and Border Protection Command last night - the 60th and final boat to arrive in 2009.

One man suffering what was described as a “serious medical condition” was taken immediately to the mainland for treatment.

The Australian understands the man was gravely ill with septicaemia following a recent operation.

The boat was intercepted north of Ashmore Island at 10.15pm on New Year's Eve.

The boat's arrival comes amid fresh debate about how to handle the surge in arrivals.

On Wednesday, Liberal leader Tony Abbott attracted criticism following his pledge to tow seaworthy asylum boats back out to sea.

The proposal, which was also endorsed by Kevin Rudd prior to the last election, was attacked by refugee groups and church leaders as dangerous, illegal and inhumane.

A total of 60 boats carrying 2727 passengers and 138 crew arrived in 2009.

The arrivals represented a huge spike on the previous year, where just 161 people arrived by boat.

The opposition has blamed the spike on a series of measures by Labor aimed at softening Australia's treatment of refugees.

But the government says increasing instability and violence in source countries like Sri Lanka and Afghanistan is to blame.
-ABC 2009

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CIA mourns devastating loss in Afghanistan-8 DEAD

2009-12-31T22:46:00.000-08:00

LATEST NEWS-1450 WAST

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is mourning the loss of seven employees in a suicide attack in Afghanistan, one of the deadliest blows ever for an agency increasingly on the frontlines of US wars.

The CIA lowered the flag to half-mast at its headquarters in the Washington suburbs, but did not release the names of the casualties who died cloaked in the same anonymity with which they lived.

"Your triumphs and even your names may be unknown to your fellow Americans, but your service is deeply appreciated," US President Barack Obama wrote in a letter to CIA employees.

Mr Obama said that since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US, "the CIA has been tested as never before".

"Because of your service, plots have been disrupted, American lives have been saved and our allies and partners have been more secure," he said.

Mr Obama says stars will be added in their name to the 90 already on the Memorial Wall at CIA headquarters, honouring spies who have fallen in the line of duty.

Jack Rice, a former CIA officer in Afghanistan, says the attack will never be forgotten.

"The impact can be huge, not just in terms of the capabilities of these particular people, but in the relationships that they themselves have built," he said.

"You can't simply go pick up five or 10 more of these guys. They may be the best guys in the world at what they do and they're gone."

Bomber 'invited onto base'
While more than 500 US and coalition forces have died in Afghanistan this year, Wednesday's suicide attack showed a new level of sophistication for the Taliban, who infiltrated the very agency in charge of finding them.

The CIA said a Taliban bomber clad as an Afghan soldier managed to penetrate the defences of a forward base in Khost, a pivotal province near the Pakistan border, detonating an explosives belt in a room described as a gym.

The New York Times said CIA officers at the base recently had begun an aggressive campaign against a militant group run by Sirajuddin Haqqani.

Citing current and former intelligence officials, it said the early indications were that the bomber was brought onto the base as a possible informer and might not have been subjected to rigorous screening.

It was a devastating blow for the spy agency, the deadliest since a 1983 US embassy bombing in Beirut that killed eight CIA officers and decimated the agency's operations there.

US press reports said the seven dead included the base chief, a mother of three.

CIA director Leon Panetta says six others were wounded, their lives saved by US military doctors and nurses.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai "strongly condemned the terrorist attacks that killed foreign civilian and military personnel in the provinces of Khost and Kandahar".

The attack comes as the US increasingly relies on the CIA and other covert forces to pursue strategic goals.

CIA and special forces were at the forefront of the US invasion of Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks, paving the way to overthrow the Taliban's extremist regime.

More recently the CIA has been operating unmanned drones that target extremists in lawless areas of Pakistan.

Intelligence operatives are also seen as crucial in laying out the groundwork as Obama and NATO allies send in another 36,800 troops as part of a surge expected to last until late 2010.
-AFP
-ABC 2009

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MUHARRAM: HOLY MONTH FOR SHI'A ISLAM: ST MARRY'S MOSQUE

2009-12-22T19:02:00.000-08:00

LATES NEWS: 1200 WAST
Muharram is observed by the Shia community of Muslims in commemoration of the martyrdom of Prophet Mohammed's grandson, Imam Hussain, who was killed in the Battle of Karbala in AD 680. The prophet's son-in-law Ali, and Ali's elder son Hassan, are also remembered during this period as having suffered and died for righteous causes.

Muharram, or the sacred month, marks the beginning of the Muslim year.

Muharram is one of the four sacred Months out of twelve. The other being ZiQad,ZilHajj and Rajab. It is a sacred month NOT because the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (saw) was martyred in this month. It is sacred because Allah made it sacred along with three other months and told us about it in the Quran.

The word muharram also means respect.

THE HAZARA ETHNIC SOCIETY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA (HESWA)

THE HESWA IS HOLDING THE MUHARRAM MOURNING 10 DAYS TO RECITE PLAINTIVE VERSES AT:

PLACE: St Marry's Mosque
TIME: 2000-2200 (8am-10pm)** (**=time variation due to assembling)

For contact details please contact the head of the HESWA.
To add more to this post or any thing else regarding the Holly month of Muharram please do not hesitate to contact me either by placing a comment on this post or by email at:

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55th asylum seeker boat intercepted

2009-12-15T23:07:00.000-08:00

LATEST NEWS: 15:15 WAST

55th asylum seeker boat intercepted: Rudd under pressure

Authorities have intercepted another asylum seeker boat, taking the tally for the year to 55.

The boat was intercepted just after 8pm on Tuesday by HMAS Launceston about 30 nautical miles northeast of the Ashmore Islands.

Initial indications suggest there are 51 passengers and four crew on board the vessel. They will be transferred to Christmas Island where they will undergo security, identity and health checks.
The latest arrival comes as the government faces increasing pressure to do more to solve the asylum seeker problem with detention facilities on Christmas Island already stretched to their limits.

As of Tuesday, there were 1,487 detainees on the island, including 82 in tents which were erected as temporary accommodation to cope with the growing asylum seeker population.
7NEWS Ltd

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Asylum seekers injured in riot-Christmas Island

2009-11-22T18:30:00.000-08:00

LATEST NEWS-11:30 AM WAST

Thirty-seven Afghans and Sri Lankans have been injured in a massed brawl on Australia's Christmas Island involving 150 detainees.

Ten of the detainees were taken to the island's hospital and three of the more seriously hurt - one with a broken leg, one with a broken jaw and one with a broken nose - were flown to Perth for treatment on Sunday.

Some guards suffered minor injuries while breaking up the fight, an Immigration Department spokesman said.

Christmas Island detention centre authorities have now separated the Afghan and Sri Lankan detainees, with those believed to be the cause of the trouble placed in "stronger" detention, Immigration Minister Chris Evans said.

Senator Evans rejected suggestions the brawl was caused by tensions arising from overcrowding at the offshore detention centre, blaming the incident on anxiety caused by the repatriation of some Sri Lankans.

"We've had some people removed back to Sri Lanka found not be refugees," he told ABC Radio on Monday.

"But essentially we've had a fight between some detainees which got out of hand."

There was always a tension inside a detention centre for 1000 people, Senator Evans said.

"It's like any other place where you have to detain large groups of people."

There will be a full investigation by the Australian Federal Police, he said.

WEAPONS USED

The trouble began about 6.30pm on Saturday. As the confrontation between the Afghans and more recently arrived Sri Lankans developed, those involved wielded pool cues, broom handles and branches.

Detention centre staff moved in quickly to break it up but it took them 30 minutes to get those fighting under control.

"This was a confrontation between a group of detainees, it was not aimed at staff or the centre itself," the spokesman said.

There are 969 asylum seekers detained in the centre, which is designed to take 1088.

The spokesman said the detention centre was not overcrowded and all of the detainees were accommodated appropriately.

The two groups involved had been separated to ensure there was no further friction, he said, and they were being kept apart in two sections of the centre.

''All is calm and there have been no further incidents,'' the spokesman said.

The Opposition immigration spokeswoman, Sharman Stone, described it as "very disturbing" and called on the Federal Government to launch an independent inquiry into what went wrong.

She said it was a "serious breach of internal security" and both detainees and staff were in real danger.

Forty-four boats carrying 2094 passengers, most of them from Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Iraq, and 92 crew have arrived in Australian waters so far this year.

The latest was intercepted by the Australian Customs vessel Roebuck Bay south-west of the Ashmore Islands on Friday.

It was carrying 53 passengers and two crew, and they were taken to Christmas Island.

The boat was the fifth to arrive in Australian waters in a week.
SMH

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Theory: Origins of Hazaras

2009-11-19T07:23:00.000-08:00

The origins of the Hazaras are not fully reconstructible and thus debatable.

At least partial Mongol descent is difficult to rule out, because the Hazaras' physical attributes and parts of their culture and language resemble those of Mongolians. Thus, it is widely accepted that Hazaras do have Mongolian ancestry, if not direct male-line descent from Genghis Khan, as some Hazaras allege. Some Hazara tribes are named after famous Mongol generals, including the Tulai Khan Hazara named after Tolui, the youngest son of Genghis Khan. Theories of Mongol or partially Mongol descent, are plausible, given that the Il-Khanate Mongol rulers, beginning with Oljeitu, embraced Shia Islam. Today, almost all Hazaras adhere to Shiism, whereas Afghanistan's other ethnic groups are mostly Sunni.

Another theory proposes that Hazaras are descendants of the Kushans, the ancient dwellers of Afghanistan famous for constructing the Buddhas of Bamiyan. Its proponents find the location of the Hazara homeland, and the similarity in facial features of Hazaras with those on frescoes and Buddha's statues in Bamiyan, suggestive. However, this belief is contrary not only to the fact that the Kushans were Indo-European Tocharians, but also to historical records which mention that in a particularly bloody battle around Bamiyan, Genghis Khan's grandson, Mutugen, was killed, and he ordered Bamiyan to be burnt to the ground in retribution, renaming it Ma-Obaliq ("Uninhabitable Abode") while replacing the local population with his armies and settlers[citation needed].

A third theory, and the one accepted by most scholars, maintains that Hazaras are a very mixed race. This is not entirely inconsistent with descent from Mongol military forces. For example, Nikudari Mongols settled in eastern Persia and mixed with native populations who spoke various Iranian languages. A second wave of mostly Chagatai Mongols came from Central Asia and were followed by other Turko-Mongols, associated with the Ilkhanate (driven out of Persia) and the Timurids, all of whom settled in Hazarajat and mixed with the local Persian population, forming a distinct group.
vBulletin: Hazara

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HAZARA GENETICS-MONGOL LINKED Y-CHROMOSOMES

2009-11-19T07:21:00.000-08:00

HAZARA GENETICS-MONGOL LINKED Y-CHROMOSOMES

Genetically, the Hazara are primarily a mixture of eastern Eurasian and western Eurasian peoples.

Genetic research suggests that they are related to neighboring peoples, while there also seems to be a distant relation to Turkic and Mongol peoples of Inner Asia,such as the Uyghurs of China.

A Mongol element in the ancestry is supported by studies in genetic genealogy as well, which have identified a particular lineage of the Y-chromosome characteristic of people of Mongolian descent ("the Y-chromosome of Genghis Khan"). This chromosome is virtually absent outside the limits of the Mongol Empire except among the Hazara, where it reaches its highest frequency anywhere. About two thirds of the Hazara males sampled carry a Y-chromosome of this lineage.
vBulletin: Hazara

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Aid staff pull back from asylum boat: Hostage probability

2009-11-17T21:16:00.000-08:00

LATEST NEWS: 13:50 WAST

THE International Organisation for Migration has withdrawn its staff from a dock at the Indonesian port city of Merak, fearing they could be taken hostage by 247 increasingly desperate asylum seekers staging a sit-in on their boat.

For more than a month, the Tamils, led by spokesman ''Alex'', have refused to leave, demanding to be taken to Australia or at least be seen by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Neither wish has been granted so far and Indonesia is negotiating with Sri Lanka to deport them back to their homeland.

''If we are going to be deported, we will become martyrs,'' said Alex. ''We would rather die than go back.''

According to IOM spokesman Chris Lowenstein-Lom, the staff who have been feeding and providing medical care to the asylum seekers for the past month have been in repeated conflict with them in recent days and are now scared.

''If relations deteriorate further, there is a real risk that they could become hostages,'' he said. ''IOM has therefore pulled back to a building 15 minutes' walk from the dock and the navy has taken over the tent.''

Alex, whose real name is Sanjeev Kuhendrarajah, said the IOM had been increasingly neglectful but he rejected as absurd the suggestion that he or the others on board would take them hostage.

''They are trying to discredit me,'' he said. ''They are trying to make me look like a terrorist.''

He said the IOM - the multinational body charged with caring for irregular migrants - had refused to provide medical attention to one of the asylum seekers, who had since been taken to hospital, a trip paid for by the Tamils.

The port in Merak has been locked down for several days, and tensions are rising. A policeman threatened to shoot the Tamils, according to Alex.

The withdrawal of the IOM means the Indonesian navy has to deliver food, water and organise medical care.

Many of those on the boat are suffering from a variety of ailments as the monsoon season brings heavy rain.
THE AGE 2009

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Asylum seekers are genuine, says UN

2009-11-04T04:45:00.000-08:00

LATEST NEWS-20:50 WAST

The United Nations Refugee Agency says some of the people on board an Australian customs ship off the Indonesian coast are genuine refugees.

The 78 Sri Lankans are refusing to leave the Oceanic Viking because they do not want to be transferred to an Indonesian detention centre.

The UN's regional representative, Richard Towle, says some of the group have already been recognised as needing refugee protection.

"It's difficult for us to say exactly who's on board and what their background and profile is, but we understand there are a number of cases who are known to UNHCR - either as refugees or people who have some registration with our organisation in south-east Asia," he said.

The agency has not been asked to go on board the customs ship carrying the asylum seekers.

Mr Towle says it has become a complex political issue.

"We haven't been on board at this point because we haven't received a specific request from the government of Indonesia and of course, their consent and request would be a prerequisite of us going on board," he said.

Senior officials from the Australian and Indonesian governments are looking at ways to end the standoff.

Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor says productive discussions are underway.

"Those discussions will continue. It's a difficult challenge," he said.

"We are patient as the Indonesians are and we want to do this in a civil way and will continue to focus on that.

"Let's remember, we rescued these people. They were in grave danger and now pursuant to the agreement reached, we want to have a peaceful transfer of these passengers onto Indonesian soil."

Australian Broadcasting Corporations

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Boat tragedy: teens among missing-Sri Lankan

2009-11-03T16:09:00.000-08:00

Political debate

In the wake of the disaster, the Federal Opposition has warned that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's border protection policy was destined to put more lives at risk.

Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull says he will put in place policies that will stop people smugglers heading to Australia.

"Every Australian government's policy should be to secure our borders and ensure that people smuggling does not occur and there are no, or as few as possible, unauthorised maritime arrivals of asylum seekers," Mr Turnbull said.

The comments follow the latest Newspoll, which shows the electorate is losing faith in Mr Rudd's handling of the asylum seeker issue.

The Government's primary vote was down seven points to 41 per cent, putting it on equal footing with the Coalition, which jumped seven points from its 34 per cent rating two weeks ago.

The slump was also reflected in the two-party preferred polling results.

In the last poll, Labor had an 18-point lead over the Coalition - that has now been narrowed down to just four points, with Labor on 52 per cent and the Coalition at 48.

Mr Rudd also slipped by two points to 63 per cent in terms of preferred prime minister.

But Mr Rudd has refused to back away from his policy stance.

"What the Government is doing is ensuring that it implements its tough, responsible but fair policy - the one that we took to the people prior to the last election - and it's the one which serves Australia's long-term interests," Mr Rudd said.

"It's tough and hardline on people smugglers. It's humane on asylum seekers. That is a responsible policy in the national interest."

Australian Broadcasting Corporations

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Rudd Government slumps-One confirmed dead, 11 feared drowned as boat sinks

2009-11-03T01:03:00.000-08:00

Boat passenger confirmed dead

At least one person is confirmed dead and another 11 remain missing, feared drowned, after a boat sank off the West Australian coast on Sunday night.

The Home Affairs Minister, Brendan O'Connor, says 27 people have been rescued since the boat went down in the Indian Ocean, 350 nautical miles off the Cocos Islands.

It is believed the boat was carrying 39 people when it sank.

The rescued passengers remain on board two commercial vessels that were the first on the scene of the incident and continue to help in the search.

The Federal Government says it does not know the origins of the boat or its occupants, and it has not ruled out taking the survivors to Christmas Island.

It has marshalled three planes to help search for the missing passengers.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says it is an unfolding rescue operation.

"This has only unfolded in the last 24 to 36 hours. It's still underway," he said.

"There are still people who we believe are unaccounted for.

"We've got the deployment of vessels, we've got deployment of RAAF aircraft, we've had rescue rafts released from those aircraft."

Coordinated rescue

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority is coordinating the rescue operation in Australia's vast search and rescue zone.

A Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) jet has been sent from Perth and a Customs Dash 8 aircraft has also joined the search.

Stephen Langford from the RFDS says time is critical.

"It's temperate waters, so it's really a matter of getting out there to see if there are any survivors still there," he said.

"Obviously in this case time is critical because one wouldn't expect the people on board the boat would have much in the way of safety equipment."

Mr O'Connor says the Government has decided to work with the boats already in the region to carry out the rescue operation.

"We'll ensure that we do everything we can, firstly to rescue any remaining passengers that are at sea and provide whatever other support is required to assist the commercial vessels," he said.

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Asylum seeker issue erodes-PM's support-Ratings Plung...

2009-11-03T00:46:00.000-08:00

Air Force plane hours from rescue scene- missing people

2009-11-01T23:02:00.000-08:00

Government rescue efforts

Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor says the Government has decided to work with the boats already in the region to carry out the rescue operation.

But he will not say where the rescued people will be taken.

"We'll ensure that we do everything we can, firstly to rescue any remaining passengers that are at sea and provide whatever other support is required to assist the commercial vessels," he said.

"That's our focus at the moment, but of course we'll look to the other issues about where the passengers should head as soon as we've done everything we can to save people that may be in the sea at this point."

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says it is too soon to consider where the people should be taken.

"Our priority right now has to be, as you would expect of any government, to deploy necessary resources to attend to lives at risk on the high seas," he said.

Night-time accident

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority received a distress signal from the stricken boat about 11:15pm last night.

A spokesman for the Home Affairs Minister's office says a small Taiwanese fishing boat nearby told the Safety Authority that the boat of asylum seekers was taking on water but was not sinking.

The Taiwanese fishing trawler was not big enough to take the people on board and it stayed alongside until a Bahamas-flagged merchant ship, the LNG Pioneer, arrived.

The ABC understands the merchant ship arrived at the very moment the boat started sinking.

The Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshall Angus Houston, has shed some light on what happened next.

"When the first ship got there, this vessel was still intact," he said.

"Somehow or other during the process of the interaction between the ship and the trawler and also the stricken vessel, there has been a capsize and people have ended up in the water."

All 40 people on board the sinking boat ended up in the ocean.

The Government said there was no moonlight and that made search and rescue very difficult.

Australian Broadcasting Corporations 2009

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Kids destined for detention: Jakarta

2009-10-30T22:05:00.000-07:00

SENIOR Indonesian officials have rejected outright a claim by Kevin Rudd that women and children asylum-seekers aboard the Oceanic Viking could be accommodated in regular housing, rather than behind razor wire in an Australian-funded detention centre.

"We've already got a detention centre (at Tanjung Pinang) and in it we already separate men and women," the Foreign Ministry's most senior official for international security, Sujatmiko, told The Australian.

"Indonesia does not need to be directed how to act. We've gotten the detention centre ready and we've already helped Australia for humanitarian reasons.

"There is commitment from both sides, and Indonesia has the commitment, but Indonesia is not your country."

A spokesman for Mr Rudd said last night that the Prime Minister stood by his earlier comments.

On Wednesday, Mr Rudd told parliament: "The Indonesian authorities have advised the government that women and children will be offe

red the option of staying in a house near the Tanjung Pinang detention facility.

women and children will be offered the option of staying in a house near the Tanjung Pinang detention facility."

The Prime Minister's office did not respond to Dr Sujatmiko's comment last night.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's most senior adviser on international affairs, Dino Patti Djalal, also refused to confirm claims made by Mr Rudd in parliament that the women and children among the 78 Sri Lankans would be housed separately.

After a brief silence in response to the question yesterday, Mr Djalal said simply: "I couldn't comment on that. We're waiting for Australian officials to go on board later today and convince them to come off, because that's all they can do.

"They're on Australian territory so we can't do anything about it. We just hope Australia can get them off the boat."

Mr Rudd's "Indonesia solution" is facing growing opposition from Jakarta, with senior Indonesian officials saying they will not allow their country to become a processing site for Australia-bound boatpeople.

As officials continued to negotiate an end to the standoff with the 78 Sri Lankans aboard the Oceanic Viking, now in its 12th day, there were fresh signs the impasse was taking its toll on relations between Australia and Indonesia.

Yesterday, Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said talk of an "Indonesia solution" to intercept the boats had become a sore in Indonesia.

"We don't want to be caught in the domestic issues in Australia," Mr Faizasyah told The Australian.

"We don't want to be the object of insults from your dynamic, political dynamic, in your country."

Mr Faizasyah said Indonesia has a "bigger picture" when it came to bilateral relations.

"This will certainly irritate Indonesia to be associated with a new form of policy which in your country itself is still being debated," he said.

Asked if it was likely Jakarta would agree to intercept and process more boats, Mr Faizasyah replied: "I don't think so. We are not a country to process refugees because more importantly we are not parties to the refugee convention, so what we are doing (is) only based on our humanitarian perspective."

But Dr Sujatmiko said Indonesian officials had responded promptly to Australian requests to supply food, water and other necessities to the Oceanic Viking, and in facilitating visa arrangements for an expected crew change aboard the vessel.

"We have helped with everything (possible) but we are not going to force (the asylum-seekers) to come off the boat," he said.

Indonesian officials also revealed privately they were furious at the inactivity from Sri Lanka through the crisis, and were talking privately about making Colombo directly responsible for repatriating the next boat load of Tamils they intercept. Strategists in Jakarta believe this would send "one of the strongest signals ... if next time one of these boats is picked up, it just gets sent straight back to Sri Lanka".

Mr Djalal suggested that the move "should give some discouragement to them (asylum-seekers), after making all that effort to get here".

Late yesterday afternoon the Sri Lankan ambassador to Indonesia agreed to visit the 78 Tamils on board the Oceanic Viking and make an offer of repatriation.

"If even half or a quarter of them could be repatriated, that would be a great thing," Mr Djalal said.

Security on the Oceanic Viking was ramped up yesterday, with the Sri Lankans herded behind fluorescent tape and kept under guard by armed Customs officials.

The Customs officers confirmed they had been directed to prevent any communication between journalists and the Sri Lankans.

Fellow Tamil refugee "Alex", on board the Jaya Lestari 5, a wooden cargo boat moored with 251 asylum-seekers at the port of Merak in western Java, said he could confirm that those on board the Oceanic Viking had had "at least one telephone communication with the outside world".

"However, I can tell you that contact is waiting for a follow-up call, so whether it came from one person on board who had a phone but no longer does, I couldn't say."

The Sri Lankans appeared relaxed yesterday, washing on the top deck where they were being guarded early in the morning and then retreating under tarpaulins and below deck when a violent thunderstorm struck in the middle of the day.

THE AUSTRALIAN

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Australia could use force against asylum seekers

2009-10-28T00:38:00.000-07:00

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has not ruled out the use of force by Australian officials against a group of asylum seekers who are refusing to leave a Customs ship, saying the Government is dealing with a "complex and difficult situation".

As the 78 asylum seekers spend their 10th day on board the Oceanic Viking off the coast of Indonesia, Mr Rudd has faced a barrage of questions in Parliament from the Opposition over the stand-off.

Despite a deal made by Mr Rudd and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for Indonesia to take the group last week they are yet to leave the ship and local officials are resisting efforts to bring them ashore.

With the issue dominating Question Time this week, Mr Rudd was repeatedly asked by the Opposition to detail his involvement in continuing developments but Mr Rudd would not elaborate on any discussions which he said were of a "diplomatic nature".

When asked whether Australian officials could use force against the asylum seekers, Mr Rudd replied: "We are dealing with a complex and difficult and challenging set of circumstances."

"I have confidence that our men and women who are working in these professional agencies will discharge their professional responsibilities with the greatest degree of skill and tact and humanity that they can, but this is a very difficult situation," he added.

The asylum seekers are due to be taken to a detention centre on the island of Bintan, but Mr Rudd says Indonesian authorities will not insist on locking up the women and children of the group.

"I'm advised by the Indonesian authorities that women and children will be offered the option of staying in a house near the Tanjun Pinang detention facility," he said.

The Opposition insists the Government's change in border protection policy is responsible for a recent surge in boat arrivals and Leader Malcolm Turnbull says the Government has "outsourced" the country's refugee program to people smugglers.

"Not one question about the Oceanic Viking has been answered other than with a contemptuous, savage and sneering attack on the Opposition," he said.

"The truth is that this debacle is a disaster entirely of the Government's own making."

Mr Rudd also also faced criticism from within his own ranks with Australian Workers Union boss Paul Howes saying the asylum seekers should be brought to Christmas Island.

"These are 78 people - can anyone really run any serious argument that this poses any threat to us whatsoever?" Mr Howes asked.

"The Prime Minister ... has the opportunity to show leadership and actually inject some common sense and get a bit of the heat and rhetoric out of this debate."

O.P.C. by: Emma Rodgers

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Australia will meet legal obligations to asylum-seekers: Gillard

2009-10-19T23:24:00.000-07:00

JULIA Gillard has told Parliament Australia will follow the letter of the law on where 78 asylum-seekers intercepted in Indonesian waters will be sent.

Asked in question time why the asylum-seekers remain in limbo after being picked up by the Australian Navy in Indonesian waters, the acting Prime Minister said consultations were continuing.

Ms Gillard, who earlier pledged the government would get the balance right beween a hardline border control policy and showing compassion to refugees, confirmed one female passenger was suffering from fever and was being monitored.

“We will act in a way entirely consistent with out legal obligations,” she said.

“We will follow the letter of the law.”

Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull questioned her claims that a rise in asylum-seekers was sparked by push factors not a softening of policy.

“Why is the government trying to trick the Australian people with spin,” he asked.

Mr Turnbull said the government had rolled out the red carpet to people-smugglers.

The government is also under pressure today to explain whether a warning the government's policies would lead to a rise in people-smuggling was “excised” from a report prepared by Australian Federal Police.

The AFP refused to be drawn on the issue yesterday in Senate estimates on the grounds it was classified.

Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor also refused to comment, but accused the opposition of verballing the AFP on the issue today in question time.

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The Australian

Australia 'must do something' to stop flow of asylum seekers

2009-10-17T23:28:00.000-07:00

Sunday 18th October 2009

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd needs to stem the flow of asylum seekers instead of relying on Indonesia to do the heavy lifting, the federal opposition says.

"The flow (of asylum seekers) is back on full strength and it is a deadly business," opposition immigration spokeswoman Sharman Stone told ABC Television today.

"And that is why we are saying: 'Look, Prime Minister Rudd, look you do something right now other than just calling in Indonesia to do your heavy lifting'."

Dr Stone said the number of asylum seekers had increased from about three boats in 2002/03 to 41 boats since the Labor government "softened" its policy last year.

If the opposition had been in power, the problem wouldn't exist, she said.

"We wouldn't have the problem in the first position, because we had zero boat problems, effectively, when we were in government," she said.

"If Prime Minister Rudd refused to deal with the problem he has created, and we got to our change of government with us in power, you would stand by and see us with a strategic package bringing all of this to a crunch very, very quickly."

The debate was heightened yesterday after two boats, possibly loaded with asylum seekers believed to be heading to Australia, issued distress signals in Malaysian and Indonesian waters.

The Australian navy is on standby to help in the rescue operation led by search and rescue authorities from Malaysia and Indonesia.

Climate Change Minister Penny Wong today said that HMAS Armidale had made contact with one of the boats and everyone on board was believed to be safe.

She defended the government's "tough but humane and fair" approach, saying the situation was a difficult one.

"We have allocated substantial resources in the last budget to border protection," she told Network Ten.

"Obviously, the situation around the world has meant many push factors are increasing the number of people seeking to go elsewhere and this is the situation the government is seeking to manage."

The situation unfolds as a group of Sri Lankan asylum seekers in Indonesia ended a hunger strike.

Their boat, carrying more than 250 ethnic Tamils, was intercepted last weekend by the Indonesian navy en route to Australia and taken to the Javanese city of Merak.

The passengers had refused to leave the boat during the past week, while making emotional pleas for Australia to take them in.

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Brisbane Times 2009

Boat with 83 asylum seekers intercepted

2009-09-12T19:59:00.000-07:00

A boat carrying suspected asylum seekers has been intercepted off Australia's north-west coast.

Authorities responded to a distress call and intercepted the boat at midnight Friday, about 150 kilometres south of Ashmore Island.

It is believed 83 passengers and four crew were on board.

The Federal Government says the suspected asylum seekers are being transferred to Christmas Island to undergo security and health checks.

The surveillance aircraft which spotted the boat believed it was in distress, but Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O'Connor said the people were found to be safe.

"The people on board the vessel are safe and have indicated that they wish to come to Australia," he said in a statement.

It is the second boat to be intercepted this week after a vessel carrying seven passengers was found in the same area on Monday.

A further 56 Afghanis trying to travel to Australia in a wooden boat were detained in Indonesia, a navy official said on Friday.

The Federal Opposition has now renewed calls for an inquiry into Australia's border protection laws.

Opposition spokeswoman for immigration Sharman Stone said the Federal Government has "clearly lost the battle to people smugglers".

The latest is the 30th boat that has been intercepted since the Government "went soft" on border protection last August, she said.

"For the sake of those risking their lives and to better protect Australia's orderly immigration program we must have a detailed analysis of what has gone wrong with Labor's strategy," she said in a statement.

"Again, I call for an urgent inquiry into the relationship between the Rudd Government's softened stance on border protection and the surge in people smuggling in Australia."

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Navy intercepts boat with 65 asylum seekers

2009-09-12T19:57:00.000-07:00

Another boat carrying asylum seekers has been intercepted off the north-west Australian coast.

The boat, carrying 65 people and three crew, was located three nautical miles north-west of Ashmore Island at 7pm (local time) yesterday by navy boat HMAS Maitland.

It is the third boat intercepted in the past week.

A boat carrying 83 passengers and four crew was found 150 kilometres south of Ashmore Island on Friday night.

On Monday, a boat carrying seven people was intercepted.

All have been taken to Christmas Island.

COMING SOON AT HNWA!

2009-08-16T06:09:00.000-07:00

Monday 16th August 2009

Atention readers and people of Hazara News WA.

HNWA would like to inform you all that an opinion(a formal report) will be given in regards to the boat blast on the Australian's northwest coast that took the life of five Hazara man.

It is not known yet how the boat have been destroyed, with respect to AFP investigation pending and the media reports jumbling on this disaster from every angle.

Once again HNWA would like to give condolences to the family and relatives of those who have passed away as a result of the boat blast.

HNWA would like to give respect to the following people who passed away as a result of the boat blast:

Awaz Nader(50)

Baquer Husani(26)

Mohammed Amen Zamen(38)

Mohammed Hasan Ayobi(45)

Muzafar Ali Safarali(45)

For more Info from media in regards of the Asylum Seekers in Australia then visit HAZARA NEWS WA (HNWA)at www.hazarawa.blogspot.com

Asylum-seeker says Australian Federal Police "left us adrift"

2009-07-18T05:13:00.000-07:00

AN Afghan asylum-seeker arrested after several days lost at sea claims Australian Federal Police told him a helicopter and boats would be sent to rescue him and up to 85 others.

Ali Yewar, 28, a passenger on an asylum-seeker vessel that was bound for Australia and feared lost in Indonesian waters, told The Australian yesterday he called the AFP and gave readings from an onboard GPS device to pinpoint the location of the group's boat as it foundered off the eastern Indonesian island of Flores.

Mr Yewar, also known as Juma Khan, said no help had arrived.

"For four nights we drifted but no one came to help us as they promised," he said. "I spoke to Australians, to Indonesians, but no one came. Our boat was being pushed around in the heavy wind, our engine was seized and the boat was full of water."

Mr Yewar was aboard an asylum-seeker vessel that has perplexed and confused Australian and Indonesian authorities since it was first reported missing.

It was initially thought lost at sea last Tuesday, then prematurely reported as found by Foreign Minister Stephen Smith late on Wednesday. Over the weekend, some of the boat's Afghan passengers were arrested by Indonesian authorities on Sumbawa island and an empty boat was found near the island town of Bima.

Mr Smith said yesterday the passengers were safe but not all accounted for. "Our most recent advice from Indonesian officials is that the vessel has been located and the passengers dispersed," he said.

"Embassy officials, AFP officers in our office in Jakarta, have spoken to two of the passengers who were on board and the telephone advice from the passengers to the AFP officers is that all of the passengers on board are safe - that's the most recent advice I have.

"They've dispersed, so not all passengers are accounted for, but the advice that we have from two passengers is that all the passengers were safe prior to their dispersal."

However, Mr Yewar said he feared his cousin was among a group of asylum-seekers from the boat who may have drowned.

Mr Smith's announcement came as another suspected asylum-seeker vessel arrived at Christmas Island. The wooden boat, with its cargo of 73 passengers and crew, was the 17th vessel to arrive this year. More than 900 undocumented migrants and 35 crew have been intercepted in Australian waters this year.

The ship was intercepted 80 nautical miles off Christmas Island by the Royal Australian Navy patrol boat Armidale.

The passengers were yesterday being processed for identity, health and security checks before joining hundreds of others on the island's immigration detention centre, which is close to capacity.

Authorities have not said where the suspected asylum-seekers had travelled from.

Mr Yewar, who was yesterday being held on Sumbawa, said that after the boat he was travelling in started drifting, he raised the alarm. This included, he said, calling Jakarta-based AFP officers, who alerted their Indonesian counterparts to the group's plight.

Mr Yewar had also sent an SOS text message to contacts in Pakistan, who relayed it to Australian refugee advocate Ian Rintoul. Mr Rintoul called Australian authorities to ensure they knew of the group's predicament.

"The Australian police asked me if the boat had a GPS," Mr Yewar said. "I didn't know what a GPS was, but I asked the captain and he said, 'it's this'. I told the police the reading on it."

The Indonesian authorities were given those co-ordinates by the AFP in an SMS that was subsequently distributed widely through various agencies, but they were unable to locate the boat.

An AFP spokesman refused to confirm whether it had received a call from anyone on the boat. Nor would it confirm or deny whether any of its officers spoke to people on the boat. The spokesman also refused to detail whether information was passed on to the Indonesian police.

Mr Yewar said the crew eventually dropped the asylum-seekers on an unknown island and left.

He admitted the group's intention had been to sail to Australia where members would seek asylum, "because of course I like Australia and I want to be in Australia, and I promise that, whether it is illegally or legally, I will keep trying to do that".

Mr Yewar, who is from Kabul, refused to say where the boat's voyage had begun or to give any details of the people-smuggling agents he had used to make the journey.

At least 29 of the original members of that group are now in detention on Sumbawa, an island to the east of Bali and a common staging point for boat journeys to Australia.

Mr Yewar said he was worried that up to 30 more of the group had gone missing.

He said he had no idea whether that was because they had gone overboard while the boat was battling heavy seas off Flores where it first ran into trouble, or whether it was because they had disappeared after being dropped on the unnamed island.

Indonesian police said local fishermen had transported the asylum-seekers to the town of Bima, on Sumbawa, where they were eventually arrested.

Some were seized at a bus terminal, apparently preparing to head west back to Jakarta through a series of island-hopping connections. Others, including Mr Yewar, were found in a local village.

Mr Yewar said he had applied in Jakarta three months ago for refugee status through the UN High Commissioner for Refugees - an increasingly common way for people fleeing war and persecution in Afghanistan, Iraq, Sri Lanka and elsewhere to speed up their formal resettlement in countries such as Australia.

Many refugees use the resultant informal Indonesian visa to arrange the dangerous journey by sea to Australia, where they hope their resettlement attempts will be dealt with even faster.

Responding to the arrival of the lastest asylum-seeker vessel at Christmas Island, the Rudd government said the upsurge in asylum-seeker arrivals was part of a global phenomenon linked to instability and war in countries such as Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan and more recently Sri Lanka.

"The boat was detected before it reached the contigious zone and our migration zone and was kept under constant surveillance," Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor said in a statement on the weekend.

"This demonstrates that our system of border protection is strong and effective.

"The group will be transferred to Christmas Island where they will undergo security, identity and health checks to establish their identity and reasons for travel."

The latest boatload of arrivals brings the total number of people detained on Christmas Island to 725.

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Afghan asylum-seekers 'rescued' off Indonesia after AFP tip-off

2009-07-08T22:10:00.000-07:00

WAST: Thursday 09/07/2009 @ 13:50

UP to 74 Afghan asylum-seekers have been found safe after fears their fishing boat had sunk in dangerous Indonesian waters, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said last night.

A search had been launched for the boat following a tip-off from Australian Federal Police.

The boat, which was reported to be foundering off Komodo island in the country's east, had been under surveillance by Australian police based in Jakarta.

Local authorities at Labuhanbajo, on Flores island, were alerted to the boat's plight late on Tuesday by a text message from Australian police.

The boat's Indonesian crew and the asylum-seekers, who included women and children, were near land but the vessel was sinking fast and none of them could swim, the message said.

The text message, a copy of which has been obtained by The Australian, said the boat was "within sight of land but sinking no lifejackets" and that "local police have been notified appro 72-74 on board including woman and children please notify your counterparts urgently". The head of Labuhanbajo port, Pariman, said an all-day search was launched before first light yesterday as a result of the tip-off but no sign of the boat was found.

Mr Smith said last night the boat had been found.

"Indonesian officials have advised Australian officials in Indonesia that the boat has been located. It hasn't sunk," he told ABC TV's Lateline program.

"All on board ... are, on our advice, are safe."

However, there was confusion over the fate of the boat late last night, with Indonesian military officials on Flores saying:"We've found nothing. We are the navy here and we've found nothing."

Australia and Indonesia have recently increased co-operation in fighting people-smuggling, amid a fresh wave of asylum-seeker vessels.

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14th Asylum seekers boat intercepted

2009-06-24T00:56:00.000-07:00

Caption:

The 14th Boat since Kevin Rudd to Office.

CANBERRA - AN AUSTRALIAN official says border patrols have intercepted a boat carrying 49 apparent asylum seekers off the country's northern coast.

The small boat, with four crew members, was the 14th such vessel to be detained in Australian waters this year.

Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor says the passengers will be taken to Christmas Island, an Indian Ocean territory where the government detains and processes refugee applicants.

O'Connor said in a statement Tuesday that the passengers will undergo health, security, identity and other checks.

Their nationalities were not immediately known.

Most of the recent asylum seekers have come from Afghanistan, Iran or Sri Lanka. -- AP

Police 'cautiously' release names of asylum-seekers

2009-06-17T02:03:00.000-07:00

THE names of five Afghan asylum-seekers who died in a boat explosion off the coast of Australia have been released by Northern Territory police.

Acting Commander Peter Bravos said the "unusual step" had been taken because there had been problems establishing their identities and police still had questions about the accuracy of the names.

"It has been decided to take the unusual step of releasing the names of those believed to be the deceased in the hope that others may have information which will further assist us with this process," Comm Bravos said.

Awaz Nader, 50, Baquer Husani, 26, Mohammed Amen Zamen, 38, Mohammed Hasan Ayobi, 45, Muzafar Ali Safarali, 45, are among the names NT police have "cautiously" made public.

Three bodies were found at the blast scene while two bodies went missing in the surrounding water.

It is not known which names correspond to the recovered bodies.

Comm Bravos said the formal identification of the five men was continuing.

"A number of difficulties are delaying the process," he said.

"We believe all five of the deceased are Afghan nationals and the current war status in Afghanistan is further hindering our efforts."

It's still unclear what caused the blast, which also injured more than 40 people near Ashmore Reef on April 16.

The vessel, carrying 47 Afghan asylum-seekers and two crew, had been intercepted the previous day and was waiting to be escorted to Christmas Island when the incident occurred.

NT police - conducting an investigation into the incident for the NT coroner - is yet to reveal whether the blast was an accident or the result of sabotage.

But Comm Bravos said more than 130 statements had now been taken, including 44 interviews.

A second round of interviews started last week.

A separate investigation is being carried out by the Australian Federal Police into people-smuggling.

NT police can be contacted by anyone with information on (08) 8922 1505.

In landslide victory, Ahmadinejad declared president

2009-06-17T01:55:00.000-07:00

The final results of Iran's closely-contested 10th presidential election indicate that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has won a landslide victory.

"Of 39,165,191 votes counted (85 percent), Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the election with 24,527,516 (62.63 percent)," Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli told reporters on Saturday.

Mir-Hossein Mousavi came in second with 13,216,411 votes (33.75 percent), he added.

The two were followed by Mohsen Rezaei with 678,240 votes (1.73 percent) and Mehdi Karroubi with 333,635 votes (0.85 percent), the minister said.

He put the void ballots at 409,389 (1.04 percent).

Over 46 million Iranians aged 18 and older were eligible to vote in Friday's presidential election.

Afghan who tried to return but ended up in dire straits

2009-05-29T20:28:00.000-07:00

BOARDING the ill-fated boat of asylum seekers in Indonesia last week, Ali Talash must have had a strange sense of deja vu.

Now lying injured in the Royal Perth Hospital, it was Mr Talash's second trip to Australia on an Indonesian boat.

In 1999, as the Taliban's control of Afghanistan tightened and the persecution of his Hazara community increased, Mr Talash said goodbye to his wife and children. He was taken by people smugglers through Pakistan and Iran, then flown to Malaysia and on to Indonesia, where he boarded a boat.

That boat was intercepted and he spent about a year in immigration detention before being granted a temporary protection visa. He moved to Auburn, in Sydney's south-west, and spent the next four years working as a tiler.

But as the war in Afghanistan progressed he became hopeful his country may have stabilised.

Mr Talash, who is in his 40s, was depressed and missing his wife and children, whom he could not see because the conditions of his visa meant he was not allowed to leave Australia.

So in 2003 he decided to go back to Afghanistan.

Mr Talash called a friend in Perth, Salman Rahmani, and told him of his decision.

"I said, 'If you go maybe you will (get) killed' — but he said, 'It's been so long, I must see my family'," Mr Rahmani said.

"He said he couldn't sleep in the night, he was very worried about his children and after he went back to Afghanistan it was very bad.

"It's sad, because Ali Talash missed (his chance to get) a permanent visa. Everybody else, me, our friends, we got permanent visas and became citizens, but he went home. By now he would have been a citizen, it's very sad."

But when Mr Talash returned to Afghanistan he found it still a violent, chaotic place and decided to try to get his family to Australia.

Increasingly frustrated by the lack of help from Australian embassies in Afghanistan and Pakistan, earlier this year he decided to make a perilous return journey.

The boat carrying him and 48 other asylum seekers was intercepted by the Australian Navy, and before they reached the safety of Christmas Island, there was an explosion on board, knocking many of them into the water.

Mr Rahmani's son Jarajo Zirak, 20, has been going to Royal Perth Hospital every day since Friday, trying to get information about Mr Talash's condition.

Mr Talash's wife called Mr Zirak on Friday, scared her husband had died. So far, Mr Zirak has been able to tell only that Mr Talash is alive, with officials unwilling to give details.

"She called me and was crying and was worried," Mr Zirak said. "She called me last night and I said there was no news yet. For the first few days she called me every two hours."

Indonesia stops nearly 900 asylum seekers: AFP

2009-05-29T20:24:00.000-07:00

Australian Federal Police (AFP) commissioner Mick Keelty says authorities in Indonesia have stopped nearly 900 suspected asylum seekers from travelling to Australia since September last year.

Thirteen boatloads of asylum seekers have arrived in Australia in the past five months.

The Navy intercepted the latest boatload near Ashmore Island off the north-west coast of Australia on Sunday.

"Since September 2008, in Indonesia, there have been 40 identified disruptions comprising of 887 foreign nationals suspected of being in transit or have entered Indonesia for the purpose of travelling to Australia illegally," Commissioner Keelty said.

Police yet to reveal cause of fatal boat blast

2009-05-29T20:22:00.000-07:00

Five people were killed in the April 16 explosion near Ashmore Reef. (File photo) (Department of Defence)

Northern Territory Police are still to determine whether a fatal boat explosion near Ashmore Reef last month was a result of sabotage or an accident.

They have interviewed 41 asylum seekers who were on the boat, known as the SIEV 36.

Five people were killed in the April 16 explosion.

Of the 44 people rescued, three remain in a stable condition at the burns units of the Royal Perth and Royal Brisbane hospitals.

Earlier this month, government sources told the ABC fuel was deliberately poured on the boat deck as a threat, after the Navy intercepted the vessel.

It is alleged those on board feared they would be turned back to Indonesia.

However, the head of the Afghan community in Western Australia says some of the survivors now in immigration detention say it was an accident.

The Immigration Department is still to interview the survivors.

The asylum seekers are believed to be from Afghanistan, but the department cannot formally identify them until their interviews are finished.

Immigration says its focus remains on providing support and welfare to the group.

Protest in Australia Against the Rape Law

2009-05-23T22:05:00.001-07:00

Protesters holding banner in front of Afghanistan Embassy, Canberra Australia.

Tuesday May 12, 2009–- Afghanistani Australians from around Australia gathered in Canberra to voice their concern over the increasing Talibanization of Afghanistan as well as to condemn Afghanistan’s now infamous Rape Law. Protesters shouted slogans against the shameless move by religious fundamentalists to further rid women of their basic rights in clear violation of United Nations declaration on Human Rights, to which Afghanistan is a signatory. They further urged the Australian public and government to use their influence to ensure Human Rights are upheld in Afghanistan.

Large number of protesters were women.

The protesters, majority of who were women, took their concerns to the Australian Parliament House and later to the gates of the Afghanistan Embassy in Canberra where they formally filed their protest with the Afghanistani Ambassador to Australia, who promised to pass the concerns of the protesters to authorities in Kabul.

Some of the articles in The Shi’a Personal Status Law that are in gross violation of the Human Rights are as follows:

Treatment of women as sex objects
Legalization of marital rape, including the obligation on women to submit to their husbands’ sexual desires at a minimum of four times a week.
Age discrimination, legalization of marriage at 16 for girls and 18 for boys
Legalization of forced marriages
Child Abuse and Child Marriage, thereby the legalization of intercourse with a minor
Allowing men to have multiple wives
And more …

Protesters demanded the Australian Govt. to use its influence against the Rape Law.

Demands:

All the people of Afghanistan should have the right to enjoy freedom, liberty, freedom of speech as well as the right to exercise their belief.
All marriages should be voluntary and sexual relationship within marriage should be on voluntary basis too.
We demand the abolition of laws that allow men to have multiple wives.
Women are not the property of men. The obligation on them to be subjects to their husbands’ permission must be abolished.
We urge the Australian government to condemn ‘The Rape Law’ and use its influence to ensure Human Rights are upheld in Afghanistan.
The Shiite Personal Status Law is in gross violation of Human Rights, it is a cruel attacked against women. It must therefore be repealed and its provisions eliminated without any delay.

Protesters demanded the Rape Law must be repealed.

English Telefilm “Guiltless” by Hazaragi Drama Association

2009-05-23T21:57:00.000-07:00

Quetta– English Telefilm, “Guiltless” by Hazaragi Drama Association is to be released soon.

HDA while talking to HazaranewsPK said their telefilm is pending due to financial problems of HDA and requested the Hazara business community and diaspora abroad to contribute financial assistance. Director of HDA and writer of “Guiltless” Muhammad Ali Dana told their new film is about the consecutive target killing of Hazaras in Quetta Pakistan. The story of the film focuses on a family victim of terrorism.

Muhammad Ali Dana, Director of HDA is the writer of “Guiltless”. Script of the film has been edited by Professor Nazir Hussain. Paragon Academy’s Sajjad Asim and Learners Academy’s Mehdi and Abbas have also contributed in the script. Actors of the film include Nazir Hussain Danish, Abay Danish, Mujtaba, Hina Batool, Mehdi, Abbas and Salman. Acting instructors included actor of Pakistan Television, Najeebullah Hazara and artist, Naseem Javed. Background Damboora of the film is played by Khair Ali Shahristani.

Actors of Guiltless, by Hazaragi Drama Association.

M Ali Dana told HazaranewsPK they have finalized the film. Its release is pending due to financial problems of HDA. Contributions can be made at Account Number 60382-4, Shabbir Hussain, Habib Bank Limited, Complex Branch Quetta.

HDA presented its first stage show in 1996. It has produced about 26 dramas yet including Mullah e Na Mullah and Londoni, written by Shaheed Hussain Ali Yousafi.

Recording to Guiltless, by Hazaragi Drama Association.

April 29th 2009: Hazaragi Drama Association (HDA) has appealed to Hazara businessmen and affluent members of society to ensure their financial contributions wholeheartedly to the association for releasing successfully the English movie named as “Guiltless” made on merciless target killings of innocent Hazara citizens in Quetta , a press release of HDA made available to this website on Thursday said.

The HDA, has made the televised-film, “Guiltless”, in English language which focused on the current waves of terrorism and brutal target killings of innocent Hazaras who have been fallen victims in the recent waves of acts of terror mercilessly and guiltlessly in Quetta .

The Drama Association has appealed to affluent Hazara tribesmen to contribute financially in favour of

Hazaragi Book “NOO BOKO” Published

2009-05-23T21:53:00.000-07:00

May 13 2009 Quetta–
Hazaragi poetry book, NOO BOKO (Nine Peak of the Mountains) written by renowned poet in Quetta, Liaqat Ali Aajiz has been published in Quetta. The book includes Hazaragi poetry about motherland Hazarajat and nine popular Hazara heroes. Mr. Aajiz has beautifully expressed his love towards the motherland and heroes. The book has been published by Humanitarian And Development Assistance in Focus (HADAF). The book is available in all bookshops of Hazara Town, Alamdar Road and Mehrabad.

Asylum seekers delivered to Christmas Island

2009-05-09T06:29:00.000-07:00

THE largest contingent of asylum seekers - 187 people - arrived at Christmas Island yesterday aboard supply ship HMAS Tobruk.

The ship had been steaming to the island and its immigration processing facility with 138 refugees and 12 defence escorts on board, when it was diverted to collect another 49 rescued from a sinking boat by the crew of patrol boat HMAS Maryborough off Broome in WA.

HMAS Tobruk will anchor off the island for 48 hours.

It was expected the transfer of the 187, 20 at a time, by a barge crewed by Customs officials, would take all day.

Unloading began yesterday. The arrivals were given health, quarantine and baggage checks before being sent to an immigration facility or detention camp.

A total of 387 people now are being processed by immigration officials at the island facility.

Before yesterday's influx, 310 were on the island of which 198 were in the detention centre, 79 in a temporary camp and 33 were in community detention.

Most of the new arrivals, including all single adult males, will go the centre

Due to the large number of fresh arrivals it is unlikely that the government's 90-day processing time frame will be met for all the potential refugees.

Navy and Customs vessels and aircraft are stretched to breaking point and Immigration officials are overwhelmed by the biggest influx of boat people since the government softened its policy last year.

So far this year 11 boats have been intercepted and 18 have been picked up since the government policy changed last September.

They have carried a total of 676 men, women and children including 479 from the 11 boats this year.

Most of the boat people have come from Iraq and Afghanistan with a smattering of Sri Lankans displaced by civil war and other nationalities and thousands more are ready to make the perilous ocean journey.

HMAS Tobruk will depart from the island tomorrow and will remain under the control of Border Protection Command.

People-smuggling baron Ali Cobra seized in action

2009-05-09T06:21:00.000-07:00

ONE of the biggest fish in Indonesia's people-smuggling racket has been netted, after police raided a house in the eastern port city of Makassar.

The 30-year-old - known to asylum seekers the world over as Ali Cobra and described by Indonesian authorities as the "Noordin M.Top" of the trafficking racket, in reference to the regional terror tsar who has eluded capture for years - was seized on Monday night.

Ali Cobra, also operating under the name Labasa Ali, was in the process of organising a trip to Australia for 10 Afghan asylum seekers, some of whom had previously tried to make the perilous trip but had been detained by Indonesian police.

All 10 Afghan men, as well as the alleged people-smuggler, were captured in the swoop. News of the arrest comes as Australia finds itself confronting a new wave of boat arrivals.

On Tuesday, Border Protection Command intercepted a boat carrying 50 asylum seekers - the 11th such vessel to be detected this year. And late on Tuesday night, four asylum seekers found on a beach on Deliverance Island in the Torres Strait arrived at Christmas Island. The men - two Afghans, a Sri Lanklan and an Indian - were transported on a commercial flight from Perth.

Ali Cobra has established a dominant hold over the trade in recent years; according to one senior Indonesian immigration official who spoke on condition of not being identified, "in almost every case in recent times he is mentioned".

This includes an ill-fated attempt in January by a group of 18 Afghans, Pakistanis and Burmese to sail in a small fishing boat from Rote Island, west of Timor, to Ashmore Reef. Nine of those on board, including a nine-year-old boy, died when the boat sank.

One of the 10 Afghans arrested this week used a hidden mobile phone to tell The Australian from his immigration detention cell - having been returned there after Monday night's raid - that it was "absolutely" the Rudd Government's relaxed policy on boatpeople that was driving the surge in arrivals by sea.

"Absolutely. We, like everybody who tries to go, we know the detention regulations have been lifted since the fall of John Howard," said Kabul man Gulistan Ali, 32.

"We know the new Government has condemned the actions of the previous one, and has made the policies much easier for asylum seekers. We know this."

Mr Ali said he and two fellow Afghans escaped from the Indonesian detention centre about a week ago by scaling a 20m wall, leaping to the ground, hiding in dense jungle for two days and then walking 60km to Makassar, where they were contacted by phone and given an address to meet their handler.

Police swooped when the group assembled at the house.

Gulistan Ali and his two fugitive companions had previously tried to make the dangerous sea crossing on February 2, when they were arrested in the southeast Sulawesi port of Bau-Bau, preparing to board a small wooden boat.

All three had been in the detention centre, near Makassar city, since then. Gulistan Ali said the "difficult psychological situation" of being incarcerated in the "brutal conditions" there had triggered his second illegal attempt to reach Australia.

Gulistan Ali said he had paid "around $US9000" ($12,000) in total to people-smugglers since arriving in Indonesia early this year; another of the trio, Ahmad Ghahera, 25, said he paid about $US8000. Both men handed over most of that money on arrival in Jakarta, after flying from Kabul via Kuala Lumpur.

They had obtained visas from the Indonesian embassy in Kabul; there have been claims made of officials there providing the entry documents for up to $US1500. Indonesia's foreign ministry denies that allegation.

Gulistan Ali, who has a wife and two toddlers in Afghanistan, said he knew there was "less than a 50 per cent chance of succeeding, of not drowning" in the attempt to reach Ashmore Reef in Australia's northwestern waters, both in the one planned for this week and that of three months ago.

However, his life, he said, "is already ruined. Either I die - and I'm not concerned if that happens - or I secure a future for my children."

However, Gulistan Ali warned that even a figure as significant as Ali Cobra should not be seen as the end of the trail in the people-smuggling business operating out of Indonesia.

"It's a very organised mafia. But the organiser of it absolutely does not come before the people. They stay behind the curtain.

"I understand that people are very often cheated. They hand over their money and then the smugglers just report them to the authorities, to the police."

The majority of the $US9000 he had paid went, he claimed, to a smuggler "who has not been arrested". Also arrested this week in Jakarta was alleged people-smuggler Sajjad Hussein, thought to have been responsible for organising a boatload of asylum seekers intercepted in Australian waters on April 29.

Turnbull wants to visit injured asylum seekers

2009-04-22T19:36:00.000-07:00

[Caption: Medical staff at Royal Darwin Hospital treat one of the asylum seekers. (Royal Darwin Hospital)]

The Federal Opposition Leader, Malcolm Turnbull, says he has requested to meet some of the asylum seekers who are being treated in the Darwin hospital.

Nine men are still in the hospital after last week's fatal explosion on a boat carrying asylum seekers from Afghanistan.

The blast, near Ashmore Reef, claimed the lives of five people and is the subject of an ongoing investigation by Northern Territory authorities.

Mr Turnbull has told ABC Radio in Darwin he will be visiting the hospital to thank the medical staff who helped treat the victims.

He says he wants to meet some of the asylum seekers too.

"I'd very much like to, but the question is whether that will be made available," he said.

"We have certainly [have] sought to do that but my understanding is that's not going to be possible."

For a larger image size..please click here...>>http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/04/23/2550589.htm

Asylum seekers caught in a boat blast off Australia's northwest coast have sustained injuries similar to those seen in the aftermath of the Bali bombi

2009-04-16T20:19:00.000-07:00

Photgraph on the right:
{The boatload of suspected asylum seekers before yesterday's explosion. (AAP)}

The injured have been transferred to hospitals in Broome, Perth and Darwin after yesterday's explosion, which killed at least three and wounded many more.

The death toll is likely to rise with two of the asylum seekers, believed to be from Afghanistan, still missing.

Three of the 49 people on board, which included children and two crew members, died when the blast occurred about 6.30am WST (0830 AEST) near Ashmore Reef, 840km west of Darwin and 610km north of Broome.

About 30 people were badly injured.

The general manager of Royal Darwin Hospital, Dr Len Notaras, told ABC Radio that the the injuries suffered by the suspected asylum seekers are similar to those seen in the 2002 Bali bombings.

"They are not injuries that are far removed from the injuries we saw during the first Bali [bombing], to a certain extent the injuries we saw during some of the incidents that occurred in Timor," he said.

Up to four Royal Australian Navy personnel have less severe injuries.

West Australian Premier Colin Barnett said it was believed the boat was doused with petrol by those on board before the explosion occurred.

"What I think is clear is the refugees spread petrol on their boat, the vessel they were on," Mr Barnett told reporters.

"Whether they ignited it or it just ignited is unknown at this stage. But clearly that caused a major explosion."

Mr Barnett later issued a statement saying the information came from WA's emergency operations unit and was relayed from the Northern Command (NORCOM), which includes naval and defence force personnel.

"We understand that the incident requires investigation and that information will be collected in coming days," the statement said.

It took six hours before the federal government publicly commented on the incident, and Home Affairs Minister Bob Debus said it was too early to speculate on the cause of the explosion.

"I have spoken to the commander of border protection command and he says, again, that although it is likely that fuel was involved in the explosion on the boat he cannot say for certain it was and in consequence, of course, he cannot answer the question which everyone would like to know: `Was this an accident or was it sabotage?'," Mr Debus told ABC Television on Thursday night.

He earlier conceded it was possible it was caused by the asylum seekers dousing the boat with petrol.

"It is clearly a possibility that that is what occurred but we are not in the position to finally confirm whether that is so or not," he told reporters in Canberra.

Royal Australian Navy Rear Admiral Alan Du Toit, who attended the same news conference, confirmed that up to four Australian Defence Force personnel were aboard the vessel at the time of the explosion.

He said the boat was not (not) being refuelled at the time.

Rear Admiral Alan Du Toit also refused to speculate on the cause of the explosion.

"There may be speculation out there but clearly this will be subject to appropriate inquiries by the appropriate authorities," he said.

The boat was "freely drifting" under Australian supervision at the time of the explosion and was not being towed anywhere, he said.

Two navy patrol boats - HMAS Albany and HMAS Childers - were in the vicinity at the time of the explosion.

The boat, which was intercepted by border patrol units at about 8.30am (WST) on Wednesday, had been awaiting the arrival of a larger naval vessel so it could be escorted to Christmas Island.

It was the third boat of suspected asylum seekers to arrive in Australian waters in the past two weeks and the sixth this year.

The opposition blamed the government for the tragedy, saying it had created a "dangerous situation" that was always going to end in tragedy.

"You can't announce a soft policy and then expect people not to lose their lives through people smuggling efforts," opposition immigration spokeswoman Sharman Stone said.

"Perhaps we are going to see more of these tragedies in the coming weeks and months."

Mr Debus said Dr Stone should withdraw the comments.

"The last time people tried to make politics in an incident like this we had a most unpleasant circumstance in Australian national life," Mr Debus said, referring to the "children overboard" episode during John Howard's time in office.

"I do assure that the Rudd government is not going to be playing politics out of these kind of incidents.

"We are going to give you the truth and we are going to report to you accurately what is going on. We are not going to speculate and certainly we are not going to play that political card."

An offshore oil facility was being used as a triage centre for the injured, who were then being ferried by helicopter to the Truscott airbase, north of Kununurra in Western Australia's northwest.

The injured were then being transferred to hospitals on the mainland.

Those who were not injured were being taken in a naval vessel to Darwin as immigration officials decide how they should be treated.

Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull described the incident as a terrible tragedy, but also attacked the government over its policy for dealing with asylum seekers.

"There is no doubt the impression had been created that we are more accommodating, or taking a less hard line on people smuggling than we have in the past," Mr Turnbull told reporters in Brisbane.

But Mr Debus, who had just returned from a people smuggling conference in Bali, said push factors in countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka had resulted in a spike in illegal arrivals.

The government hoped Indonesia would toughen its people smuggling laws, to help address the problem, he said.

"We are hopeful that they will change a number of their laws, particularly the laws that affect people smuggling directly.

"But they are a sovereign nation and they will do so according to their own priorities."

Royal Brisbane to treat injured asylum seekers

2009-04-16T20:14:00.000-07:00

Shia Hazara mass grave found in north Afghanistan

2009-04-13T22:27:00.000-07:00

Afghan authorities said a mass grave containing at least 100 bodies of Shia Hazara massacred has been discovered by experts.

The mass grave was found in Balkh, 15 kilometers from Mazar Sharif.

According to residents, the bodies were that of Shia Hazara who were slaughtered by Taliban who came to power in 90s.

Islamic Republic of Iran has welcomed nuclear talk plans

2009-04-13T22:04:00.000-07:00

Iran welcomes nuclear talks plan
Iranian technician works at Bushehr nuclear plant, 25 February 2009
Iran says it is developing nuclear power for civilian purposes

Iran has welcomed an offer of talks with six world powers over its nuclear programme, state television says.

Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili spoke to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and discussed the proposals, Iran's news agency ISNA said.

"[Iran] welcomes discussion with the group of six for a constructive cooperation", Mr Jalili said.

Last week the six - US, Russia, China, France, UK and Germany - said that they were inviting Tehran for talks.

The group's statement also reaffirmed its members' commitment to a "dual track" strategy, promising economic and political assistance if Iran agreed to international demands to halt uranium enrichment operations, but tighter sanctions if it did not.

Mr Jalili also said Iran would issue an official statement in response to the six powers' offer, Iranian state TV reported.

His response came days after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tehran was open to talks, as long as they based on a platform of respect and justice for Iranian rights.

Iran denies it is seeking to build a nuclear weapon and says its nuclear programme is designed to generate electricity.

'New respect'

The talks are based on international concern that Iran's nuclear programme is a cover to build atomic weapons.

Tehran has continued to enrich uranium despite lengthy negotiations in recent years with major powers and despite the imposition of sanctions by the UN Security Council.

Progress has been slow, but new US President Barack Obama recently used a video message to offer "a new beginning" to the Iranian people and leaders.

While not openly accepting Mr Obama's overtures, Iran's president has sounded a more conciliatory tone in recent weeks.

Last week he told German news magazine Der Spiegel that Iran speaks "very respectfully" of Barack Obama

"But we are realists. We want to see real changes," Mr Ahmadinejad said.

Enriched uranium can be used in nuclear power plants, but can also be used to make the weapons.

But Tehran has always insisted it is developing nuclear power for civilian purposes.