What a bunch of hyperbolic nonsense. There's a huge difference between this:
And this:
Modern prison ships have all the amenities. They're like cruise ships, just you can't leave.
Posted on 08/05/2006 8:11:05 AM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
SYDNEY: Australia plans to use an armed detention ship to house illegal Asian fishermen caught off its remote northern coast, sparking criticism that keeping people in a floating prison would breach human rights obligations.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who has enforced a tough border protection policy, said the detention ship was appropriate as Australia faced a stream of illegal fishermen.
"The need for it is obvious. You can have a situation where you could have a surge of illegal fishermen and women and a holding capacity of that kind is very sensible," he said.
"This is a particular need in a special situation," Howard told reporters.
Civil libertarians, the Labour opposition and the Australian Greens party all condemned the prison ship plan as uncivilised, drawing comparisons with British convicts sent from overflowing prison hulks to Australia more than 200 years ago.
"A couple of centuries ago people were condemned to hulks for stealing bread," said Pauline Spencer, from Victoria state's Federation of Community Legal Centres.
"Now we're looking at people being condemned to these hulks for stealing fish. . .," she told reporters.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAustralia, which automatically detains asylum seekers arriving by boat on remote islands or outback centres, has intercepted 234 foreign fishing vessels this year, more than double the number caught last year.
Most of those detained are Indonesian fishermen seeking lucrative shark fins. They are fined and sent back to their villages but their ships are burned.
Australian Customs has advertised for tenders to lease a vessel that will act as an offshore detention ship capable of holding 30 detainees and be fitted with deck-mounted machine guns, a spokesman for Fisheries Minister Eric Abetz said.
The ship would be used to secure illegal arrivals at sea for two to three days, allowing navy vessels to keep patrolling instead of immediately returning to port with detainees.
"We need a vessel that will be able to hold illegal fishers out at sea so we can round up even more of the boats," Abetz told reporters.
Australia already operates a detention-supply ship, the Oceanic Viking, in its cold southern waters. It is used to hold illegal fishermen caught with valuable Patagonian Toothfish.
In March, the Oceanic Viking was deployed for two weeks off northern Australia where it held two groups of 40 Asian fishermen, ferrying them to the tropical port of Darwin.
Its success prompted the decision to deploy a detention ship in northern waters.
Australia will spend $A10 million ($NZ12.38 million) a year leasing the new ship, which could be operating by early 2007.
"This policy harks back to Australia's penal history, when we should be at the forefront of compassionate and human solutions to border issues," Greens Senator Kerry Nettle said in a statement.
The Australian Council for Civil Liberties said the plan should be ditched. It was concerned about human rights abuses because the detention ship would keep detainees far from public scrutiny.
In May, Australia said it would spend $A500 million toughening security of its remote northern border with more surveillance flights and sea patrols. Nearly $A400 million will be spent combating illegal fishing.
"Prison ship" LOL. Sounds like some of the hyperbole used by our OBL.
I will follow it with a submarine. If things get out of hand, release the crew to rowboats, and then load the torpedoes in the sub.
I would follow it with a submarine. If things get out of hand, release the crew to rowboats, and then load the torpedoes in the sub.
How do you "burn" a burro?
Magnetic boots, too?
What a bunch of hyperbolic nonsense. There's a huge difference between this:
And this:
Modern prison ships have all the amenities. They're like cruise ships, just you can't leave.
There's this trouble with the compassionate approach--you let other people break your laws & ignore the sovereignty of your country and soon you don't have a country anymore.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.