HRA MEDIA RELEASE: First load of victims to Malaysia - Australia's racism for all to see

HRA Press Release 31/7/2011The first boat load of lawful Asylum Seekers will be victimised by the Australian Government under its illegal Malaysian Deal policy. The boat load of lawful Asylum Seekers has presented themselves to the Australian Navy's HMAS Ararat in Australian waters north-west of Western Australia, near Scott Reef. There is irony in the name of the Australian Navy vessel - 'Ararat'.

Apparently Mr Bowen, who considers himself a Minister for Immigration said, "What happens now is the new arrangements are in place which means the boat obviously gets taken to Christmas Island - that can take some days for that to happen - then we begin our pre-transfer arrangements which is assessing the vulnerability of people and assessing fitness to fly and we begin the process of transferring people to Malaysia."

As soon as the first Asylum Seeker who sought Asylum in Australia steps foot in Malaysian territory Australia will have committed a human rights abuse - as soon as the first person is forced to set foot in Malaysian, part of the en masse Gulag like transport of people to the impoverished, brutal and lawless Malaysian camps, where near 100,000 Refugees languish, Australia will have in effect shattered its party to the UN Conventions, Protocols, sub-Protocols in relation to the rights of our Asylum Seekers. Furthermore as the first child is forced to step on to Malaysian territory, whether unaccompanied or accompanied, Australia will have shattered its party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and will have shattered its party to UN articles supporting the rights of families.

The UNHCR must rise to the occasion and bring Australia before the United Nations, it must not cower - as the UNHCR has refused to sign or endorse any agreement between Australia and Malaysia because by doing so it could contravene their own Conventions and Protocols.

The Australian Government has degenerated to the worst forms of eugenics, social engineering and racisms since the eugenics and racisms that led to the Stolen Generation. Australia is now putting its racism in an outrageous display for all the world to see.

Gillard and Bowen cannot be allowed to excuse their actions that their racism is about 'stopping the boats' - this is rubbish. The boat loads of some of the world's most vulnerable, desperate and persecuted peoples will not just stop, however it does not matter whether the 'boats stop or not', the fact is that what Australia is doing in sending people to these impoverished Malaysians where so many languish is immoral, is outrageous, is unlawful, is inhumane, is utter and sheer racism.

As brutal as the Australian mandatory detention system is, with the horrific rates of self-harms, suicide and multiple suicide attempts, with six deaths in Detention Centre Custody in the last ten months, five of them suicides, with the mental breakdowns and the rise in clinical disorders, and which do not cease post-release, the Malaysian camps have cost 1,400 lives since 2002 - and the mental and physical trauma, the suffering in these camps grieves of hopelessness.

As soon as the first person who sought Asylum in Australia is forced to set foot on Malaysian territory then at that moment there should a call to the United Nations and a filing of submissions to the United Nations to bring Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Minister Chris Bowen before the various instruments of the United Nations and including before the Hague. Warrants for their arrests as international criminals should be brought forth and that they shall be asked to explain their breaches of international laws and other various improprieties.

Australia has reached its darkest days, its ugliest nadir since the worst of the Stolen Generation, and Australia as it once did with the White Australia Policy, the Yellow Peril Policy has put its racism on show for all the world to see.

Australia's duty of care does not end with the unlawful carriage of these citizens to Malaysia. If any of them die in Malaysia they are an Australian Death in Custody. If any of them suffer physical harm and clinical disorders then Australia is responsible. You cannot export your duty of care.

ALP insiders have told me that the Government is obsessed with maintaining 'enough voters' to be returned to 'Government' albeit with the Greens partnership, and that the ALP is obssessed in removing from view the ugliest icon of its mandatory detention network, and that is Christmas Island Detention Centre.

The ALP has to understand that it does not matter whether it is returned to Government or not, not as much as it matters to do the right thing, the good thing, the moral and just thing. They may well be surprised by a return to Government if they led with propriety and honour.

No political party has done enough to do stop the return of the worst forms of racism to Australia.

It should not have ever mattered to stop the boats and rather it should have always mattered to live honourably and lead with a common humanity, with the common good.

Gerry Georgatos, Convenor - Human Rights Alliance
PhD Law researcher in Australian Deaths in Custody - 0430 657 309