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Date: 9th April 2004 Ref No. 0804
Don’t Deport into Danger
UnitingCare Wesley in South Australia has joined with the National Assembly of the Uniting Church to condemn the deportation of asylum seekers back to dangerous situations. The Australian Government deported an Iranian Asylum seeker, back to Iran yesterday.
Rev Dr Murray Muirhead said “the current Australian system is failing because people are being deported from Australia into dangerous situations, an unacceptable situation.”
“In the current situation, we know that Iranians who are Christian are amongst the people being returned to Iran. They left Iran in the first place because it was dangerous, because they were being persecuted. It is outrageous that they are being returned to what is still a dangerous environment for them.’ Rev Muirhead added.
The National President of the Uniting Church in Australia, Rev Dean Drayton made similar statements 6 months ago stating then “That the Australian Government would return people to a country so close to a war zone, and to a place where persecution and torture are a fact of life, is an abrogation of our responsibility as decent human beings not to endanger people’s lives.”
UnitingCare Wesley in South Australia is calling on the Commonwealth
Government to undertake 3 clear actions:
1. Minister Vanstone to report back to the Australian public on the
safety and welfare of deportees, including the person deported to Iran
yesterday
2. An immediate halt on the forcible deportation of people into situations
where safety cannot be guaranteed
3. Greater transparency of government actions, particularly prior
to deportation.
It also needs to be understood that the sudden and secretive deportation of asylum seekers causes considerable distress for people who continue to be detained at Baxter. “Where people at least know what is happening to them there is scope for some planning and grieving to occur” Rev Muirhead added, “surely we can expect these basic levels of human dignity to be respected.”
Further information and Comment
Rev Dr Murray Muirhead 0408 833 419
Minister UnitingCare Wesley 8534 4127 (ah)
