Rudd misses boat with Malaysian people smuggling

Rudd and Turnbull both miss the boat with Malaysian people smuggling spin

Media Release
Monday July 6, 2009 1:30am WST
For immediate Release
No Embargoes

"While the spin around the Prime Minister's trip to Malaysia amounts to pretty cheap political pointscoring and loads the dice around people smuggling myths, and is objectionable in the context of what Malaysia actually does to asylum seekers travelling to or through its nation, Malcolm Turnbull's reply remarks around 'measuring Rudd's success' is as impoverished as the Prime Minister's remarks," WA Human Rights group Project SafeCom said this morning.

"There is plenty of evidence of harrowing acts by Malaysian authorities in relation to asylum seekers in their country, from the US State Department, from Amnesty International and from Human Rights watch, which should predicate that the Prime Minister should have organised his trip around a lobbying effort to ensure that Malaysia treats people seeking asylum in the region with dignity, respect and that it desists from questionable treatment to these desperate world travellers," spokesman Jack H Smit said.

"The article posted this morning at Crikey by former Democrats Senator Andrew Bartlett outlines some of the relevant issues. Media representatives should not fall for the Prime Minister's spin. If it's not illegal to travel to those countries in the region who are signatories to the UN Refugee Convention, then those seeking asylum should be respected, and since there's not exactly a daily ferry service between Australia and Malaysia for asylum seekers, those needing to flee their countries need to use inferior forms of transport."

"The fact that Australia has ramped up the fear of people smugglers is just another variant on the John Howard game, who ramped up the fear of asylum seekers. Media reporters need to look beyond the heavy smokescreens thrown up by Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull."

ENDS

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