| Tamil refugee dies in Merak, Socialist Party blames Kevin Rudd for the tragedy |
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Tamil refugees moored at the port in Merak contacted Socialist Party officials this morning with the tragic news that a young man died last night at about 11.30pm local time.Jacob Christian, aged 29, had been trying to go to hospital for the last two days but the IOM and local authorities had refused to let him leave the port. They have also been denying medical staff access to the boat for some weeks.Kumar, one of the refugees on the boat, said “Jacob Christian was violently ill and had been constantly vomiting blood. It took a bitter argument with the authorities to get them to eventually take him to hospital.
“It seems that after two days it was too late. Jacob died very soon after arriving at the hospital. We are sure that if he had medical assistance earlier he would still be with us today” Kumar said. Socialist Party National Organiser Anthony Main, who visited the boat in late November, said “There is only one person to blame for this tragedy – Kevin Rudd. He was the one who contacted the Indonesian government to intercept this boat and he is the one who has been refusing to process these people along the same lines as those on the Oceanic Viking” “It seems that instead of adhering to his responsibilities Kevin Rudd would prefer to let these people die one by one. Its time Rudd acted urgently to let these people come to Australia so that they can be processed in a proper manner” Anthony said. For more information or interviews contact – Socialist Party National Organiser Anthony Main on +61417368215 Kumar who is on the boat on +62 85881777763 Alex who is on the boat on +62 81387780889 Socialist Party National Office on 03 9639 9111 |
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