Revelations that Australia knew about but
did not go to the rescue of a refugee boat, known as the Barokah, that resulted in 200 men, women and
children drowning last December, have escalated debate in Australia this weekend over the responsibility
and role of Australia going to the rescue of refugee boats in distress on the dangerous passage from Asia to Australia.
Latest debate in the Australian press addresses a key issue of new
knowledge revealed by a Freedom of Information search, that allegedly shows that Australian
authorities had knowledge of the
whereabouts and plight of a boat in
distress known as the Barokah which sank in December 2011, yet did not act on
the pleas of help from Indonesia to immediately send out a search and rescue operation.
The reports of the content of the documents
obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal background to the stories of boats in distress, adding new context to the many media reports prior to this.
An article in today’s Age outlines the
events revealed by information obtained about the sinking of the Barokah,
and documents responses of
authorities new impetus for discussion over regional
responsibilities for maritime rescues.
The Age reports (O’Brien, The Age, 8/7/12) that according to the documents obtained under
the Freedom of Information Act, Australia's maritime authority asserted it was Indonesia’s
responsibility to lead the search and rescue mission.
"Australian authorities refused to co-ordinate the search and rescue for the asylum seeker boat known as the Barokah, which sank in December killing about 200 people, despite pleas for help from Indonesia.
"Australian authorities refused to co-ordinate the search and rescue for the asylum seeker boat known as the Barokah, which sank in December killing about 200 people, despite pleas for help from Indonesia.
Documents obtained under freedom of information reveal that Australia's maritime authority told Indonesia's search and rescue agency that it was up to them to lead the mission."
The wreck
of the Barokah caused massive loss of life, second to that of the sinking of the SIEV X
in 2001 which 358 people drowned.
This revelation follows the last weeks’ dramatic
incidents of a boat in distress on its
way to Australia on June 19, that was left to drift for days before capsizing
with 90 people on board drowning. “The boat broke up in high seas about 40
nautical miles south of Prigi Beach, Java.” (O’Briend 2012). Many survivors were left
clinging to pieces of debris for hours.
Whereas media reports state that both the
Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and
Basarnas (the Indonesian search and recuse authority) knew about the
maritime emergency, it was apparently left
up to local fishermen to rescue passengers from the ill fated boat.
On the Australian side, the Age reported (amongst
other viewpoints):
“A spokeswoman
for the maritime authority denied there had been any direction from government
about its response to distressed asylum seeker boats, saying its policy was
consistent and in accordance with the relevant conventions and international
practices.
''The
operational circumstances may vary from incident to incident, and it is these
operational factors that shape the actual response,'' a spokeswoman said.”
On the
Indonesian side, the Age reported:
”The head of
Basarnas, Vice-Marshal Daryatmo, recently said the agency was hopelessly
under-equipped for ocean rescue and needed help from Australia.”
The Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Jason
Clare, referred to this
week’s maritime emergency (where 90
lives were lost) as a case of where a call for help was received and ''working
with Indonesia, we work as hard as we possibly can to save lives''.
Mr Clare
anticipated a reworking of the policy, saying that ''meetings will take place
over the next few weeks between AMSA and Basarnas on how they can work more
closely together' (O’Brien, The Age, July 8 2012).
If there are communications problems that
slow response times and lack of regional resources and coordination, the new impetus is to address and fix these. Acted
on now, as Mr Clare’s words may prefigure, the revelations have the potential
to lead to the ‘regional solution’ that politicians on all sides are calling
for, to deal with the refugee crisis in our region beyond party politics in
humane and effective ways. This starts as all would wish, with developing a
clear understanding of how to fulfill responsibilities under the International
Maritime Act in cooperation with our regional neighbours to save lives in danger at sea.
O’Brien, Natalie (2012) Australia spurned
boat distress call. The Age,
Australia. July 8, 2012
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/australia-spurned-boat-distress-call-20120707-21o6e.html. Viewed July 8, 2012.
Flitton, Daniel and Bachelard, Michael (2012) 'Navy vessels rescue boat asylum seekers'. The Age . July 05 , 2012.
http://m.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/navy-vessels-rescue-boat-asylum-seekers-20120704-21hlm.html
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