Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://politktoons.blogspot.comand also at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)
Showing posts with label Immigration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Immigration. Show all posts
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Politiktoons No. 108: Julia Gilard
Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://politktoons.blogspot.comand also at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)
Friday, July 09, 2010
Sacrava's Politiktoons No. 106: Down Under
Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://politiktoons.blogspot.comand also at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)
Thursday, July 08, 2010
[Aussie] MP Hong Lim slams Gillard asylum solution Milanda Rout
July 09, 2010
The Australian
The Australian
A CAMBODIAN-BORN Victorian MP has condemned Gillard's new asylum policy, telling one a constituent it makes him ashamed to be a member of the ALP.
Hong Lim, a Chinese-Cambodian Labor MP who fled Pol Pot's regime in the 1970s, made the comments in a letter to local constituent Erika Stahr, a 60-year member of the ALP.
She wrote to her local MP saying she was turning her back on a party that had turned its back on the boatpeople.
Mr Lim replied: "I am at a loss to know what to say to people, let alone what to do.
"I hang my head in shame as a leader of the Cambodian community, as a member of the ALP, as an MP, as an Australian . . . as a human being, to see political expediency being played out so cruelly and so unconscionably even among our party!"
The response was sent not just to Ms Stahr's home at Clayton in Melbourne's southeast, but to all Labor MPs in the state lower house. It was posted at 5.17am on July 7, the morning after the Prime Minister announced her East Timor solution for the boatpeople.
By yesterday, Mr Lim was not just hanging his head, but keeping it down. He said the letter was meant for internal party use and was "indeed a very personal view".
But the frank correspondence shows the challenge facing Ms Gillard as she continues to walk both sides of road.
While Ms Gillard's plan for offshore processing of asylum-seekers may be well-received in western Sydney seats the ALP is fearful of losing, it may sink like a leaky boat in her political backyard of Melbourne.
The PM must deal with the political equation. But the pain is felt by Labor supporters such as 80-year-old Ms Stahr, head of the Indo-China Refugee Association, and now considering a vote for the Greens. She said she was impressed with Mr Lim's response.
"I know he cares a lot."
Hong Lim, a Chinese-Cambodian Labor MP who fled Pol Pot's regime in the 1970s, made the comments in a letter to local constituent Erika Stahr, a 60-year member of the ALP.
She wrote to her local MP saying she was turning her back on a party that had turned its back on the boatpeople.
Mr Lim replied: "I am at a loss to know what to say to people, let alone what to do.
"I hang my head in shame as a leader of the Cambodian community, as a member of the ALP, as an MP, as an Australian . . . as a human being, to see political expediency being played out so cruelly and so unconscionably even among our party!"
The response was sent not just to Ms Stahr's home at Clayton in Melbourne's southeast, but to all Labor MPs in the state lower house. It was posted at 5.17am on July 7, the morning after the Prime Minister announced her East Timor solution for the boatpeople.
By yesterday, Mr Lim was not just hanging his head, but keeping it down. He said the letter was meant for internal party use and was "indeed a very personal view".
But the frank correspondence shows the challenge facing Ms Gillard as she continues to walk both sides of road.
While Ms Gillard's plan for offshore processing of asylum-seekers may be well-received in western Sydney seats the ALP is fearful of losing, it may sink like a leaky boat in her political backyard of Melbourne.
The PM must deal with the political equation. But the pain is felt by Labor supporters such as 80-year-old Ms Stahr, head of the Indo-China Refugee Association, and now considering a vote for the Greens. She said she was impressed with Mr Lim's response.
"I know he cares a lot."
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Thai govt asked to stop migrants’ crackdown plan
02/28/2010
Veronica Uy
Inquirer (Philippines)
Veronica Uy
Inquirer (Philippines)
MANILA, Philippines—The Thai Royal Government must stop its planned crackdown on more than 1.4 million migrant workers, mostly from Laos, Cambodia, and Burma, citing possible violations of international and regional conventions if it proceeds with the plan.
The International Migrants Alliance (IMA) made the appeal in a statement e-mailed to media outfits over the weekend.
The crackdown follows after the Thai government ruled that migrant workers need to submit to the national verification scheme which requires all migrant workers with a two-year work permit to complete a 13-step application process for visa extension.
While the scheme’s deadline was reportedly moved a month earlier (on March 31), the crackdown will still be immediately implemented thereafter, IMA said.
“Physical abuse, maltreatment, and subhuman conditions, these are but a few of bad things to come to migrant workers who will be arrested and detained once the Thai government pursues its crackdown,” said IMA chairperson Eni Lestari.
“The Thai government should rethink this plan as it does not only violate a number of regional and international conventions but tramples upon the basic rights of migrant workers.”
Lestari also lamented the possible threat the crackdown will have on the Burmese refugees, who make up 80 percent of the targeted migrants.
“Should the crackdown push through, Burmese refugees will not only be subjected to arrest and detention but forced back into a country where they fear for their lives—the very reason they left,” she said.
The crackdown, said Lestari, will violate the Asean Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers which the Thai government recently signed.
“With a tarnished human rights record after its maltreatment of the Rohingyas in early 2009, the Thai government could never assure anyone that it shall protect migrant workers,” added Lestari.
The IMA also sounded the alarm over the apparently calibrated attack on migrant workers at a global scale. Thailand is the latest government to impose a crackdown on migrant workers following Australia (which recently imposed a crackdown on skilled migrants), Italy, and Malaysia.
“It is the most despicable display of hypocrisy on the part of governments who mouth promises to uphold migrants rights but do otherwise,” said Lestari, “Migrant workers, especially the undocumented, are being subjected to criminalization and outright denial of their fundamental rights in countries where more stringent immigration policies are being imposed and racial hatred being fanned.”
She retorted further that sending governments should ensure the protection of their citizens and push for agreements with receiving governments to uphold and promote the latter’s rights.
The IMA, a global alliance of grassroots migrant organizations and their advocates, calls on its more than 120 member-organizations, friends and the rest of the international community to actively build up the campaign against any crackdown on migrant workers.
“International human rights conventions and laws will remain meaningless in paper if they are not recognized, ratified, and actively championed. We call on all migrant workers and refugees to remain vigilant, organize themselves, and work with local organizations and movements in stopping this crackdown,” Lestari said.
The International Migrants Alliance (IMA) made the appeal in a statement e-mailed to media outfits over the weekend.
The crackdown follows after the Thai government ruled that migrant workers need to submit to the national verification scheme which requires all migrant workers with a two-year work permit to complete a 13-step application process for visa extension.
While the scheme’s deadline was reportedly moved a month earlier (on March 31), the crackdown will still be immediately implemented thereafter, IMA said.
“Physical abuse, maltreatment, and subhuman conditions, these are but a few of bad things to come to migrant workers who will be arrested and detained once the Thai government pursues its crackdown,” said IMA chairperson Eni Lestari.
“The Thai government should rethink this plan as it does not only violate a number of regional and international conventions but tramples upon the basic rights of migrant workers.”
Lestari also lamented the possible threat the crackdown will have on the Burmese refugees, who make up 80 percent of the targeted migrants.
“Should the crackdown push through, Burmese refugees will not only be subjected to arrest and detention but forced back into a country where they fear for their lives—the very reason they left,” she said.
The crackdown, said Lestari, will violate the Asean Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers which the Thai government recently signed.
“With a tarnished human rights record after its maltreatment of the Rohingyas in early 2009, the Thai government could never assure anyone that it shall protect migrant workers,” added Lestari.
The IMA also sounded the alarm over the apparently calibrated attack on migrant workers at a global scale. Thailand is the latest government to impose a crackdown on migrant workers following Australia (which recently imposed a crackdown on skilled migrants), Italy, and Malaysia.
“It is the most despicable display of hypocrisy on the part of governments who mouth promises to uphold migrants rights but do otherwise,” said Lestari, “Migrant workers, especially the undocumented, are being subjected to criminalization and outright denial of their fundamental rights in countries where more stringent immigration policies are being imposed and racial hatred being fanned.”
She retorted further that sending governments should ensure the protection of their citizens and push for agreements with receiving governments to uphold and promote the latter’s rights.
The IMA, a global alliance of grassroots migrant organizations and their advocates, calls on its more than 120 member-organizations, friends and the rest of the international community to actively build up the campaign against any crackdown on migrant workers.
“International human rights conventions and laws will remain meaningless in paper if they are not recognized, ratified, and actively championed. We call on all migrant workers and refugees to remain vigilant, organize themselves, and work with local organizations and movements in stopping this crackdown,” Lestari said.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Hor Nam Hong to US: "Khmer Kampuchea Krom ... are not refugees on Cambodian land because they are Cambodians"
February 09, 2007
Cambodia, U.S. joining hands in migration, trafficking issues
Cambodia, U.S. joining hands in migration, trafficking issues
Cambodian Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Namhong on Thursday met with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration Ellen Sauerbrey to discuss migration, human trafficking and other cooperation issues, local press reported Friday.
During the meeting, the two sides agreed that Cambodia and the United States have enjoyed good cooperation over the past several years, the Rasmei Kampuchea quoted Foreign Affairs Secretary of State Long Visalo as saying.
In the meeting, Ellen Sauerbrey praised Cambodia for its handling of the central Vietnamese tribal Montagnard issues under the cooperation of UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
According to Long Visalo, following Cambodia, Vietnam and the UNHCR signing a memorandum of understanding in January 2005, Cambodia arranged for the resettlement of 648 Montagnards, said the newspaper.
The Montagnards were mainly re-located in the United States.
There still remain 239 Vietnamese tribesmen in refugee camps in Cambodia, said the newspaper.
The discussion also covered issues about the rights of indigenous Khmers in Kampuchea Krom, an area of southwestern Vietnam that once formed the lower reaches of the Khmer empire.
Many Cambodians also migrated there during the Democratic Kampuchea era and want repatriation to their homeland.
"Then Khmer Kampuchea Krom come to live in Cambodia. We provide them with citizen rights as other Cambodians, which means they are not refugees on Cambodian land because they are Cambodians, and we recognize they are Cambodian citizens," Hor Namhong told the newspaper.
During the meeting, the United States asked for a continuous cooperation between the two nations to tackle these issues.
Meanwhile, the U.S. official said in a press conference at the U.S. Embassy on Thursday that Washington ranks Cambodia second among Asian countries in its efforts to combat human trafficking, reported the Koh Santepheap.
Ellen R. Sauerbrey urged Cambodia to draft a law on human trafficking, the Rasmei Kampuchea reported.
"We pay attention to human trafficking in all forms," Hor Namhong was quoted by the newspaper as saying.
Cambodia is writing the law and human trafficking, which occurs both internally and internationally, is a very complicated issue, said the Koh Santepheap.
Source: Xinhua
During the meeting, the two sides agreed that Cambodia and the United States have enjoyed good cooperation over the past several years, the Rasmei Kampuchea quoted Foreign Affairs Secretary of State Long Visalo as saying.
In the meeting, Ellen Sauerbrey praised Cambodia for its handling of the central Vietnamese tribal Montagnard issues under the cooperation of UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
According to Long Visalo, following Cambodia, Vietnam and the UNHCR signing a memorandum of understanding in January 2005, Cambodia arranged for the resettlement of 648 Montagnards, said the newspaper.
The Montagnards were mainly re-located in the United States.
There still remain 239 Vietnamese tribesmen in refugee camps in Cambodia, said the newspaper.
The discussion also covered issues about the rights of indigenous Khmers in Kampuchea Krom, an area of southwestern Vietnam that once formed the lower reaches of the Khmer empire.
Many Cambodians also migrated there during the Democratic Kampuchea era and want repatriation to their homeland.
"Then Khmer Kampuchea Krom come to live in Cambodia. We provide them with citizen rights as other Cambodians, which means they are not refugees on Cambodian land because they are Cambodians, and we recognize they are Cambodian citizens," Hor Namhong told the newspaper.
During the meeting, the United States asked for a continuous cooperation between the two nations to tackle these issues.
Meanwhile, the U.S. official said in a press conference at the U.S. Embassy on Thursday that Washington ranks Cambodia second among Asian countries in its efforts to combat human trafficking, reported the Koh Santepheap.
Ellen R. Sauerbrey urged Cambodia to draft a law on human trafficking, the Rasmei Kampuchea reported.
"We pay attention to human trafficking in all forms," Hor Namhong was quoted by the newspaper as saying.
Cambodia is writing the law and human trafficking, which occurs both internally and internationally, is a very complicated issue, said the Koh Santepheap.
Source: Xinhua
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