SHAMEFUL!!!
Oz minister defends plan
Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has heaped praise
on the Cambodian government, which last month deported dozens of
Montagnard asylum seekers back to Vietnam, as a “very responsible”
partner in refugee resettlement.
In an interview yesterday, he said the controversial bilateral deal’s
numerous critics will soon be proved wrong when up to five refugee
families are initially settled in the Kingdom.
Cambodian officials are to travel to Nauru in the coming weeks to
meet the approximately 400 refugees eligible for resettlement here in a
bid to find three to five families willing to make the move.
No refugees processed in Australian-run detention centres on the
South Pacific island have yet officially volunteered for the
resettlement scheme, but Dutton said he had no doubt that sufficient
numbers would agree to be part of the trial group and that many others
would follow.
The deal – which was inked last September and will see Australia give
Cambodia $35 million in extra aid over four years – has been lambasted
by rights groups and opposition parties in both countries.
But the Australian minister, speaking to the Post before he
departed for home after a 24-hour visit to Phnom Penh, claimed critics
will be left embarrassed when the initial group is successfully
resettled in Cambodia with the assistance of the International
Organization for Migration (IOM).
“I think the criticisms have been lacking substance, and I think they
haven’t been based on fact, and I think some of the critics will be
embarrassed when they understand the depth of the arrangement and the
depth of support that will be provided,” he said.
Dutton, who was appointed in December, declined to comment on the
deportation of 45 Montagnard asylum seekers back to Vietnam by Cambodian
authorities over the past month without subjecting them to the status
determination processes legally required.
He said he did not have “the full facts” in relation to the matter and thus it would not be appropriate for him to comment.
But he applauded the government’s “responsible approach” to Australia’s proposal.
“I think critics will always find a point to criticise, but my
experience has been a very positive one and that’s only been reinforced
by the meetings today,” he said, referring to back-to-back meetings with
Interior Minister Sar Kheng, Immigration Department chief Sok Phal and
Foreign Minister Hor Namhong.
“I think the Cambodian government understands their responsibilities,
I think that they are meeting their responsibilities, and I think they
have the capacity to work well with the Nauruans to provide a new life
[for the refugees].”
Foreign Ministry spokesman Kuy Koung told reporters following
Dutton’s meeting with Namhong that the Cambodian minister had made it
clear that the refugees that come here will have the right to be
resettled in a third country if they so desire.
But Dutton said yesterday that given the initial families will
receive housing, education, employment arrangements, language-learning
support and a host of other support services, he believed “their
commitment to Cambodia would be long-term”.
He said the IOM, which after long deliberations agreed to assist with
the scheme last month, had been identifying local partners to work with
in resettlement.
“They’ve been able to scope out potential housing arrangements.
They’ve been able to enter into some discussion with employment
providers and with people in Cambodia that might be willing to partner
to make this a success.”
Rupert Abbott, Amnesty International’s Research Director for
Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said Australia should not be separating
Cambodia’s recent treatment of Montagnard asylum seekers and its patchy
track record on refugee rights from the bilateral deal.
“Australia’s silence on the treatment of the Montagnards does speak
volumes. Australia is showing that it is willing to stay quiet when
human rights violations are happening and stay quiet about the
protection of refugees in order to get this deal,” he said.
“What other compromises is Australia prepared to make?”
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