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| Southeast Asia |
| Indons bitch about Aussie ''rights abuses''... |
| 2002-11-20 |
| Indonesiaâs House of Representatives on Tuesday urged the government to protest against âhuman rights violationsâ that took place during the raids on the houses of Indonesians in Australia. "We demand that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs lodge a protest against the treatment of Indonesians by Australian authorities," Amris Hasan, deputy chairman of House Commission I on defense and foreign affairs, was quoted as saying by The Jakarta Post. "It was dreadful. Simply dreadful. Nothing like the treatment they'd get here at home..." Hasan was among a group of 10 legislators that visited Australia from Friday to Monday to interview those targeted in the raids. Commission I chairman Ibrahim Ambong on Monday said Australia had violated the human rights of a number of Indonesian Muslims by depriving them of their right to fair treatment and confiscating some of their belongings. "You can't take my grenade launcher! It's a family heirloom!" He said members of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) rammed cars against the fences of some of the Indonesiansâ residences and tapped their phones. Those targeted in the raids are now afraid to do even the most simple things in their daily lives, he said. "Cheese. Every time we get together to plot the downfall of the infidels, there they are, right on our tails. It just ain't fair..." The harsh crackdowns have revealed Australiaâs true face as an authoritarian nation, he added. The horror! The horror! (Have a beer, mate!) In a hearing with Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirajuda on Wednesday, Commission I presented a video tape of interviews with some of the Indonesians and urged the government to take action to ensure that such raids do not recur. Australia has defended the raids and proposed controversial new legislation that would allow ASIO to detain people for up to a week without charge if the agency thinks they might have useful information. The legislation would also allow ASIO to detain people for up to 48 hours without access to a lawyer. Terrible. Simply terrible. Maybe they should pack their turbans and leave? |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #1 This wouldn't be as funny if Australia weren't THE most laid back country in the entire world. BTW, boys, doesn't Australia have deportation laws? Perhaps they ought to ship all your sorry butts home. |
| Posted by: Chuck 2002-11-21 09:27:16 |