Australia stands by decision to refuse visas to five Tamil refugees
Updated
The Australian Government is standing by a decision to refuse visas to five Tamils declared refugees by the United Nations but found to be a security risk to Australia. Neither Australia's Immigration Minister nor its Foreign Minister would be drawn on the details of the security risk. They say they'll now work with the UNHCR to find another option for the group. But one former diplomat says the logical security concern, membership of the Tamil Tigers, hasn't been a problem for Australia in the past.
Presenter: Linda Mottram
Speakers: Chris Evans, Australian Immigration Minister; Stephen Smith, Australian Foreign minister; Bob Brown, Australian Greens party leader; Bruce Haigh, former Australian diplomat
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MOTTRAM: The five Tamils concerned are now in Australia's immigration detention centre on Christmas Island. Found to be refugees by the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, Australia won't accept them for resettlement, after the domestic security agency, ASIO, deemed them to be a security threat. The group was flown to Christmas Island after a long stand-off with Indonesian and Australian authorities late last year on board the vessel that picked them up at sea, the Australian customs ship the Ocean Viking. Australia's Immigration minister is Chris Evans.
EVANS: They've had negative security assessments under the public interest checks required under the legislation and as a result they do not qualify for permanent visas to enter Australia and they won't be entering Australia they'll be detained on Christmas Island in appropriate detention facilities until such time as we're able to resolve their particular cases and that'll be done in discussions with the UNHCR.
MOTTRAM: But the question now is where will the group go? Back to Sri Lanka, where advocates fear for their safety or to another country? Senator Evans acknowledges its difficult but not impossible to resolve.
EVANS: Well people have in the past sought to voluntarily depart or we work with UNHCR to find resettlement options. This isn't the first time this has occurred. I think was at least two who were on Nauru under the previous government who failed their security assewssments and you work with UNHCR to find a solution for those persons.
MOTTRAM: Under the Howard government, several such cases saw people in detention for five years. Senator Evans says the government is working hard to avoid indefinite detention. In this case too, there are two children accompanying two of the adults affected. They are not being held in detention or behind barbed wire, the minister says.
As to what constituted ASIO's adverse finding against the group, and particularly whether the group was found to be connected to the rebel LTTE, the Tamil Tigers, and whether they were as such viewed as potential terrorists, neither Chris Evans, nor his colleague, the Foreign minister Stephen Smith would be drawn.
SMITH: Well I don't categorise or characterise them in any way whatsoever. I simply make the point that they are subject to rigorous security assessments. From time to time a small number of people who successfully apply for refugee status fail that security assessment.
MOTTRAM: Mr Smith also said the Tamils would not be forced to return to Sri Lanka.
The Australian opposition has used the issue to again criticise the Rudd government's general management of asylum seekers .. and specifically the special arrangements offered to the Tamils from the Oceanic Viking.
For the leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Bob Brown, the issue is the role of ASIO.
BROWN: We've had no judge and jury employed here, we're talking about secret service organisations and they must be under the review of the Parliament.
MOTTRAM: Former Australian diplomat, Bruce Haigh, whose postings included the Australian High Commission in Colombo, is also critical of ASIO and of the likely basis for the intelligence assessment on the five Tamils.
HAIGH: When I was in the High Commission in Sri Lanka one of the things we were asked to do by the Australian department of immigration was to check out refugee applicants to make sure that they didn't have an adverse security background and that entailed going to the Sri Lankan police, the Sinhalese police, and seeking a police clearance which was absolute nonsense because if these people were on the other side in a civil war why would you go to just one party and ask them about the security rating of somebody applying for refugee status. So it was always going to be and always has bene a flawed process and that's what's happened in this instance I'd say.
MOTTRAM: So you think that the Australian High Commission and ASIO indeed would have continued that practice, just go to the Sri Lankan authorities, no other sources?
HAIGH: Well there aren't any other sources. As far as I'm aware we don't have any agents in Sri Lanka and even if we did it would be very difficult for them to check out the bona fides of these people.
MOTTRAM: Bruce Haigh says he believes the group would have been found to have Tamil Tiger connections and as such would have been deemed to be a terrorist threat. But he says there's no experience or evidence of Tamils in Australia being other than good citizens. And that he says includes some with Tamil Tiger connections allowed to resettle in Australia in the past.
