We are scum

[Rob Schaap <bantam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

G'day Penpals,

It gets tougher to be Australian every day ... anyway, fresh from our role in
the undoing of any good Kyoto might have done the world (in which case we
could at least argue we weren't any more disgusting than messrs USA and
Canada), we've now taken the lead in the mad race for World's Leading Bastard
- the updates, in the form of some of the day's ABC bulletins
<http://www.abc.net.au/news/newslink/default.htm>, are appended below.

I suppose the government is scared people might get confused and get to
thinking 'globalisation' might refer as much to human mobility as it does to
digicash.  Maybe they anticipate a great tide from the north should Indonesia
go pearshaped.  And maybe, in an election year, it is just good politics to
generate some good ol' xenophobic national unity.  This last seems a factor,
as the 'social democrat' 'Opposition' is firmly with Howard on forcing the
Tampa out. Anyway, here 'tis ...


                          Australian soldiers board Tampa

                          The Norwegian Embassy says the ship carrying
hundreds of asylum seekers off Christmas Island, the Tampa, has been boarded
by Australian soldiers.

                          The Norwegian Charge D'affairs, Lars Alsaker, says
the ship owner's office told the embassy, the ship had been boarded by
Australian military personnel.

                          He says he does not know how many soldiers are on
board, but has an unconfirmed report says it is about 15.

                          He says the matter is being handled by the Norwegian
Government in Oslo.



                          Tampa captain refuses to return to
                          international waters

                          There is a standoff on board the Norwegian ship,
Tampa, between the Australian SAS, which has boarded the vessel, and the
ship's captain.

                          The Australian Government ordered the ship, which is
carrying more than 400 asylum seekers, to be boarded earlier today.

                          The Prime Minister ordered the SAS to board the ship
after it moved closer to Christmas Island, entering Australian waters.

                          Norway had been warned about what would happen in
phone calls between the two countries' foreign ministers.

                          There is a dispute over the circumstances which led
to the action, with the captain of Tampa saying the asylum seekers were
threatening to throw themselves overboard because medical assistance was too
slow in coming.

                          The Australian Government quoting defence force
doctors is saying no-one on board is in need of urgent medical help.

                          The SAS is now in control of the ship, and Australia
has asked the ship's captain to return to international waters.

                          He is refusing to do so.

                          The engines of the ship have been turned off and it
is now drifting.

                          The SAS has asked the captain to turn the engines
back on but he is not doing so.

                          Mr Howard is adamant the ship will not be allowed to
land and says the Government will take all necessary steps to prevent that occurring.


                          Norwegian Foreign Minister

                          A spokesman for the Norwegian Foreign Minister says
Australia would cause an international incident if it used troops to force the
Tampa to retreat to international waters.

                          However the spokesman, Karsten Klepsvik, says it is
not unprecedented for a country to put troops on board a ship which is in its
territorial waters.

                          Mr Klepsvik has also repeated his Government's call
for Australia to allow the asylum seekers to land on Christmas Island.

                          He says he finds it surprising that Australian
authorities called for the ship to rescue the asylum seekers, but has refused
permission to land them.

                          "All precedents say that these people should be
allowed to be landed in Australia on Christmas Island, that would be the
normal procedure," he said.

                          "It was in international waters and who has
responsibility for the sea and rescue services in that area I don't know but
it was definitely your sea and rescue services who guided and asked for the
help of the Norwegian vessel."


                          Norwegian shipping company

                          The Norwegian shipping company maintains its
container ship at the centre of a diplomatic impasse will remain inside
Australian waters because it is impractical and unsafe to leave the area.

                          Wallenius Wihlhelmsen regional director Peter Dexter
says Captain Arne Rinnan decided to move towards Christmas Island earlier
today against the orders of Australian authorities because he needed a safe
shelter and urgent medical assistance for those on board.

                          Mr Dexter says the captain remains in control of his vessel.

                          In supporting the actions of the captain, Mr Dexter
says there were ten unconscious people on board the vessel, three of whom
failed to respond to external stimuli.

                          "He did take the decision that the position with
those survivors on board was deteriorating to such an extent that his major
concern was that if he did not proceed to where he could get urgent medical
assistance, that he could well be faced with deaths on board the ship," he
said.


                          Indonesia under no obligation

                          Indonesia has reiterated it will not accept the
Norwegian ship.

                          The Foreign Minister, Hassan Wirayuda, said after a
meeting of Indonesian security ministers that his country was "under no
international obligation" to accept them.

                          He says there are currently about 1,600 asylum
seekers in Indonesia, mostly from Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan.

                          All of them had been seeking to travel to Australia.




                          PM introduces bill that would allow Tampa
                          to be removed

                          The federal Government has introduced retrospective
legislation which would allow it to forcibly remove the Norwegian vessel the
Tampa from Australian waters.

                          Australian SAS troops are in control of the ship,
which has more than 400 asylum seekers on board.

                          The SAS has been in control of Tampa since early
this afternoon, but the ship's captain has refused to move the ship into
international waters.

                          The Prime Minister has rushed legislation into
Parliament which allows Tampa to be removed forcibly.

                          The Bill would allow the Government to order a
vessel and all on board it to be taken outside Australian waters, even if the
master of the vessel claims he was not on board or refuses to comply.

                          It would mean people who jump off the ship or are
taken off for medical treatment are to be returned to it and court challenges
to action taken under the Bill would be prevented.

                          Mr Howard has confirmed it will be retrospective.

                          "The Bill on entry into force will operate from
9:00am today," he said.

                          The Opposition leader is refusing to support it,
saying it would allow a boat in danger of sinking, where people's lives were
at risk to be towed out to international waters.

                          "We will not be in it," Mr Beazley said.

                          The Government wants to get the bill through both
houses of Parliament tonight and has already extended the sitting hours in the
Senate which would allow it to sit all night.

                          However, with Labor opposing the bill and the
Democrats unlikely to support it, the Government may have to reconsider its strategy.

                          Mr Howard has told the Coalition parties he will
make Parliament sit all weekend if that is what it takes to get the Bill passed.

                          Labor leader, Kim Beazley, has also questioned
whether the fact they have now entered Australian territorial waters changes
the people's legal status.

                          "We understand completely now that a difficult legal
environment has been created, even more difficult than it was prior to the
decision by the captain to enter Australian territorial waters," he said.


                          Norway appeals

                          Norway is appealing to the International Maritime
Organisation to intervene in the standoff at Christmas Island.

                          Talks between the Australian and Norwegian Prime
Ministers and Foreign Affairs Ministers have failed to cool the heated
relationship between the two countries.

                          The personal assistant to the Norwegian Prime
Minister, Jens Stoltenbarg, says Norway has now appealed to the International
Maritime Organisation to stop Australia forcing Tampa back out to sea or on to
Indonesia.

                          Jonas Store says Norway is not yet ready to impose
trade sanctions on Australia and wants to keep open the channels of communication.

                          However, he says the priority must be the safety and
health of all on board the Norwegian ship.


                          New Zealand accepts

                          The New Zealand Prime Minister has indicated her
Government would have detained the asylum seekers if they had entered New
Zealand's waters.

                          Helen Clark says New Zealand has the power to detain
asylum seekers who arrive en masse.

                          She says while New Zealand is yet to experience
large numbers of asylum seekers, it is likely they would be detained and their
refugee status decided as quickly as possible.

                          A spokesman for Helen Clark says a call for New
Zealand to take the asylum seekers would be considered but such a request has
not been made.


                          National interest

                          The Deputy Prime Minister, John Anderson, says many
issues have weighed heavily on the National Security Committee during its
deliberations about the crisis.

                          "I can assure you, we've looked carefully to our
obligations, we've looked carefully to what we believe is in the national
interest," he said.

                          "In the case of refugees, we've been a generous nation."


                          Island councillors angry

                          Christmas Island shire councillors are angry with
the Federal Government over its handling of the Tampa.

                          They are calling on the Government to open the
island's port to the Norwegian vessel and allow the asylum seekers to come
ashore.

                          Councillor Gordon Thompson, also the secretary of
the island's workers union, says residents are ashamed of the military action
taken to prevent the ship from coming to port.

                          He says the shire and community leaders have met and
are unanimously behind welcoming the boat people.

                          "We'd like to see an orderly disembarkation of the
refugees, accommodated on Christmas Island and given the due process of the
law, processed as asylum seekers," he said.

                          "Very simple, that's what has been going on for ten
years and that's what we expect to keep happening."




                          Afghanistan pleads for Australia to accept
                          Tampa refugees

                          A report from Afghanistan says the country's ruling
Taliban are pleading with Australia to accept the Afghan asylum seekers on the Tampa.

                          The Associated Press newsagency quotes a Taliban
official as saying the crisis is humanitarian, not political.

                          The official says his Government is asking Australia
to help people who he says are poor and from a country destroyed by drought
and war.

                          The Taliban has also asked the United Nations to
help the asylum seekers, most of whom are Afghan.




                          Norwegian Govt reports Aust's rejection of
                          Tampa to the UN

                          The Norwegian Government is reporting Australia's
rejection of Tampa to the United Nations (UN) and various international agencies.

                          Foreign Minister Thorbjoern Jagland says Norway is
so far not asking for direct assistance from these bodies.

                          But he says his government is communicating with the
UN's refugee agency, the UNHCR, as well as the Red Cross and the International
Maritime Organisation.

                          He says Norway continues to maintain that
international law supports its argument that Australia must let the asylum
seekers land on its territory.

                          The Foreign Minister says the 1951 International
Convention on Refugees spells out that refugees rescued on the high seas are
to be taken immediately to the nearest port.