Tamilsydney.com - All about Tamils in Sydney Australia http://www.tamilsydney.com 2010-09-07T17:35:49+01:00 http://www.tamilsydney.com http://www.tamilsydney.com/images/M_images/rss.png text/html http://www.tamilsydney.com http://www.tamilsydney.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2691&Itemid=37 Australian Border Protection Command have intercepted a boat carrying 43 asylum seekers and three crew in waters off Australia's northwest coast. Full Text of Press Release: text/html http://www.tamilsydney.com http://www.tamilsydney.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2690&Itemid=37 Asylum seeker policies announced by both the Government and the Opposition fall well short of expectations about fair process and access to justice for asylum seekers, according to the Law Council of Australia. Law Council President Glenn Ferguson says Australian’s sense of basic decency means treating people fairly and being part of the global response to refugees, and he urges political leaders to adhere to these Australian values. text/html http://www.tamilsydney.com http://www.tamilsydney.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2689&Itemid=37 Asylum seeker policies announced by both the Government and the Opposition fall well short of expectations about fair process and access to justice for asylum seekers, according to the Law Council of Australia. Law Council President Glenn Ferguson says Australian’s sense of basic decency means treating people fairly and being part of the global response to refugees, and he urges political leaders to adhere to these Australian values. text/html http://www.tamilsydney.com http://www.tamilsydney.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2688&Itemid=37 Asylum seeker policies announced by both the Government and the Opposition fall well short of expectations about fair process and access to justice for asylum seekers, according to the Law Council of Australia. Law Council President Glenn Ferguson says Australian’s sense of basic decency means treating people fairly and being part of the global response to refugees, and he urges political leaders to adhere to these Australian values. text/html http://www.tamilsydney.com http://www.tamilsydney.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2687&Itemid=37 The Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations (AFTA), the umbrella body of the peak Tamil associations in Australia and New Zealand, is dismayed and deeply concerned about the announcement made by Senator Chris Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship on last Friday that, Australia is suspending with immediate effect the processing of new asylum applications from refugees fleeing Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. text/html http://www.tamilsydney.com http://www.tamilsydney.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2686&Itemid=37 The heat and humidity here on Christmas Island is unrelentingly oppressive. Grey clouds hang damply over the mountain, making visibility poor and the roads treacherous. It is not only the weather that is threatening here. The island's main business, the detention of asylum seekers, is sadly booming. The Immigration Detention Centre at North-West Point that was built for 400 people with a surge capacity of 800, now houses more than 1,500 asylum seekers with a further 500 held at other detention facilities on the island, quirkily known as Phosphate Hill and the Construction Camp. text/html http://www.tamilsydney.com http://www.tamilsydney.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2685&Itemid=37 By GEORGINA ROBINSONA young Sri Lankan man is in hospital after attempting suicide today after 11 months at Christmas Island detention centre. The Department of Immigration confirmed a detainee was involved in an attempted self-harm incident at the Christmas Island Immigration Detention Facility at 4.30am local time (7.30am AEST). He is receiving care including mental health support and medical treatment, a department spokesman said. text/html http://www.tamilsydney.com http://www.tamilsydney.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2684&Itemid=37 The Federal Government's suspension of refugee claim processing for Sri Lankans and Afghanis is cruel and inhumane and will ramp up distress among asylum seekers, an academic says.Professor Linda Briskman, of Curtin University's Centre for Human Rights in Perth, says the suspension could lead to lengthy periods of detention on Christmas Island or the mainland. We know the mental health impact of long term detention, she said on Friday from Christmas Island, where she is conducting research on asylum seeker detention. text/html http://www.tamilsydney.com http://www.tamilsydney.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2683&Itemid=37 The President of the Uniting Church in Australia, the Rev. Alistair Macrae, has condemned the announcement by Foreign Minister Stephen Smith and Immigration Minister Chris Evans that Australia has suspended the processing of all protection applications from Sri Lankan and Afghan asylum seekers. Mr Macrae said, “The Government has broken its promises to uphold the rights of asylum seekers by returning to what is in essence a form of indefinite, mandatory detention. text/html http://www.tamilsydney.com http://www.tamilsydney.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2682&Itemid=37 In 2007, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) used the Commonwealth Criminal Code to charge three prominent members of the Australian Tamil community with serious offences, including being members of a terrorist organisation, namely, the Liberation Tigers for Tamil Eelam (LTTE or Tamil Tigers). The charges carried penalties of 25 years jail.