uawchild
uawchild's JournalGet to know a NATO member: Poland
"NATO’s essential purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.
POLITICAL - NATO promotes democratic values and encourages consultation and cooperation on defence and security issues to build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.
MILITARY - NATO is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military capacity needed to undertake crisis-management operations. These are carried out under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty - NATO’s founding treaty - or under a UN mandate, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organizations."
http://www.nato.int/nato-welcome/
Let's take a look at what Amnesty International has to say about the state of democracy in some of the newer NATO member states, today's member -- Poland.
"Poland Human Rights
Discrimination
In May Poland was referred to the European Court of Justice by the European Commission for failing to incorporate into national law EU legislation prohibiting gender discrimination in access to, and supply of, goods and services. The anti-discrimination legislation had not been adopted by the end of December. However, the government did prepare a draft law to strengthen the powers of the Commissioner for the Protection of Civil Rights to act as an equality body.
Sexual and reproductive rights
Women had difficulty accessing abortion services within the health system even when permitted by law, including in cases when their lives were at risk. Medical service providers and health institutions were not held accountable for denying access to lawful health services or for the consequences of that denial on women's health and lives. The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights criticized Poland for not guaranteeing basic sexual and reproductive health services such as contraception and family planning services.
Parliament adopted the Patients' Rights and the Ombudsperson for Patients' Rights Act, which allows any patient to file an objection against a physician's opinion or ruling. Its enactment followed a 2007 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights in Tysiac v Poland that Poland violated the right to respect for private life because it provided no timely or effective means for women to appeal against doctors' decisions to deny them access to abortion services. However, the new law required the Medical Board to rule on a complaint within 30 days, a delay that could be too long for certain medical procedures and thus constitute a violation of the right to health. In addition, the Medical Board was allowed to return a patient's complaint unanswered if they were unable to cite the legal basis of the rights or obligations being claimed. The need to hire a lawyer was a serious disincentive for patients in low or middle income groups.
In June the European Court of Human Rights asked the government to clarify the circumstances of the death in September 2004 of a 25-year-old pregnant woman, Z. In the months before her death, she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and an abscess that required three operations to remove. Z was admitted to a number of hospitals, but none would perform a full endoscopy and other diagnostic examinations for fear of risking the life of the fetus, despite appeals from her family. Z miscarried on 5 September 2004 in the fifth month of pregnancy and died from septic shock on 29 September 2004.
Justice system
The European Court of Human Rights ruled on pretrial detentions and prison overcrowding in Poland.
In February, in Kauczor v Poland, the Court concluded that numerous cases of excessively lengthy detention on remand revealed a "malfunctioning of the Polish criminal justice system" that affected large numbers of individuals.
In Jamrozy v Poland, the Court ruled in September that the extensive length of pre-trial detention - more than two years - violated the right to trial within a reasonable time or to release pending trial.
In October the Court found Poland in violation of the prohibition of torture or degrading treatment. Krzysztof Orchowski had passed most of his prison sentence in a cell with a personal space smaller than 3m² and at times 2m². The government acknowledged that prison overcrowding was systemic.
Freedom of expression
Criminalizing defamation, an offence punishable by up to two years' imprisonment for journalists (Article 212 of the criminal code), had - in at least one case - an adverse effect on freedom of expression.
In February the European Court of Human Rights found that Poland had violated the right to freedom of expression. In 2000 journalist Jacek Dlugolecki was convicted of insulting a politician under Article 212 and fined. The ruling stated that the penalty amounted to a form of censorship and that the conviction was likely to deter journalists from contributing to public discussion or performing their task as public watchdog."
http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/countries/europe/poland
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"NATO promotes democratic values..." The continued heavy influence of the conservative Polish Catholic clergy remains problematic vis a vis women reproductive rights and gender discrimination. The violation of free expression of journalists is troubling enough that the European Court of Human Rights has taken action. Prison overcrowding in poor condition coupled with PRE-TRIAL detention times of two years are issues that simply must be addressed.
Poland is the most ethnically homogeneous country in Europe with 98% of the population being ethnic Poles, but class divisions rooted in income inequality are increasing. Those Poles that feel left behind economically are turning to right wing political groups for solutions -- as was the case in the recent Polish national election:
"Poland lurches to right with election of Law and Justice party
Poland has consolidated its rightwing shift after exit polls showed voters had handed an absolute majority in its parliamentary election to Law and Justice, a Eurosceptic party that is against immigration, wants family-focused welfare spending and has threatened to ban abortion and in-vitro fertilization."
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/25/poland-lurches-to-right-with-election-of-law-and-justice-party
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Links to previous "Get to know a NATO member" posts:
Bulgaria http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027330805
Slovakia http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027328160
Hungary http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027326144
Estonia http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027324008
Barrel Bombs worse than Cluster Bombs? You decide...
Many recent news articles mentions the use of barrel bombs by the Syrian military. Are these barrel bomb worse than regular bombs? Are they worse than cluster bombs? Did Syria invent these bombs or have they been used before?
Lets take a look...
"A barrel bomb is an improvised unguided bomb, sometimes described as a flying IED (improvised explosive device). They are typically made from a large barrel-shaped metal container that has been filled with high explosives, with possibly shrapnel, oil or chemicals, and then dropped from a helicopter or airplane.[1] Due to the large amount of explosives (up 1,000 kilograms), their poor accuracy and indiscriminate use in populated civilian areas (including refugee camps), the resulting detonations have been devastating.[2][3][4][5] Critics have characterised them as weapons of terror and illegal under international conventions.[6]
The earliest known use of barrel bombs in their current form was by the Israeli military in 1948. The second known use of barrel bombs was by the US military in Vietnam in the late 1960s. Starting in the 1990s, they were also used in Sri Lanka, Croatia and Sudan. Barrel bombs have been used extensively by the Syrian Air Force during the Syrian Civil War—bringing the weapon to widespread global attention—and later by the Iraqi forces during the Anbar clashes. Experts believe they will continue to be embraced by unstable nations fighting insurgencies since they are cheap to make and utilise the advantages of a government's air-power.[7]"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrel_bomb
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OK, so they are cheap improvised bombs and their indiscriminate use against civilians is the real issue. How do they compare to cluster bombs? And what is the US policy about cluster bombs?
"A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehicles. Other cluster munitions are designed to destroy runways or electric power transmission lines, disperse chemical or biological weapons, or to scatter land mines. Some submunition-based weapons can disperse non-munitions, such as leaflets.
Because cluster bombs release many small bomblets over a wide area, they pose risks to civilians both during attacks and afterwards. During attacks, the weapons are prone to indiscriminate effects, especially in populated areas. Unexploded bomblets can kill or maim civilians and/or unintended targets long after a conflict has ended, and are costly to locate and remove."
"United States policy towards cluster munitions
In May 2008, then-Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Stephen Mull stated that the U.S. military relies upon cluster munitions as an important part of their defense strategy.
"Cluster munitions are available for use by every combat aircraft in the U.S. inventory, they are integral to every Army or Marine maneuver element and in some cases constitute up to 50 percent of tactical indirect fire support. U.S. forces simply cannot fight by design or by doctrine without holding out at least the possibility of using cluster munitions."
...
"U.S. arguments favoring the use of cluster munitions are that their use reduces the number of aircraft and artillery systems needed to support military operations and if they were eliminated, significantly more money would have to be spent on new weapons, ammunition, and logistical resources. Also, militaries would need to increase their use of massed artillery and rocket barrages to get the same coverage, which would destroy or damage more key infrastructures."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluster_munition#Countries_that_have_produced_cluster_munitions
===============
Ok then. Crude, cheaply made barrel bombs are bad because they can inflict indiscriminate damage to civilians, but US made "cluster munitions" are OK even though they also inflict indiscriminate damage to civilians?
Pardon my confusion.
Get to know a NATO member: Bulgaria
"NATO’s essential purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.
POLITICAL - NATO promotes democratic values and encourages consultation and cooperation on defence and security issues to build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.
MILITARY - NATO is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military capacity needed to undertake crisis-management operations. These are carried out under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty - NATO’s founding treaty - or under a UN mandate, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organizations."
http://www.nato.int/nato-welcome/
Let's take a look at what Amnesty International has to say about the state of democracy in some of the newer NATO member states, today's member -- Bulgaria.
"Bulgaria Human Rights
Discrimination – Roma
The Romani community continued to suffer discrimination in education, housing and health care. In January, in shadow reports to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), several domestic and international NGOs highlighted frequent forced evictions of Roma. Roma in informal settlements often lacked security of tenure, exposing them to the threat of forced evictions and destitution. The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance reported in June that discrimination against Roma was widespread and included restrictions in access to public places.
Right to adequate housing
In September almost 50 Romani homes were demolished and the families forcibly evicted in the town of Burgas. The local council's decision to demolish houses illegally built on municipal or private land left almost 200 people, who had lived in the area for several years, without accommodation. The NGO the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee reported that police used disproportionate force during the demolitions. Despite claims by the Mayor of Burgas that the families would be provided with alternative low rent council accommodation, no alternative housing was provided; the evicted Roma were only advised to apply for municipal housing. In September members of the community, represented by the NGOs Equal Opportunities Initiative and the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, submitted an individual complaint against the forced eviction to the UN Human Rights Committee.
Detention without trial
Bulgaria was again found in violation of the right to a public hearing within a reasonable time under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Criminal proceedings against Valentin Ivanov took more than eight years, commencing in May 1992 and ending in November 2000. The European Court of Human Rights ruled that this exceeded the "reasonable time" requirement, and noted that it had frequently found violations of the same right in cases against Bulgaria in the past.
Torture and other ill-treatment
Bulgaria was found to be in violation of the prohibition of torture or degrading treatment under the European Convention on Human Rights.
In January the European Court of Human Rights found that there had been a violation of the prohibition of torture and a lack of effective investigation into injuries, demonstrating that Georgi Dimitrov had been ill-treated in police custody. Arrested in 2001 on charges of fraud, he alleged after his release from prison in 2004 that he had been beaten by police officers. In March the CERD expressed concern about ill-treatment and excessive use of force by the police against minority groups, particularly Roma. The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee and the European Roma Rights Centre submitted a shadow report to CERD in which they cited cases of police ill-treatment of individuals or use of disproportionate force by the police against Romani communities. In August the Military Court of Appeals upheld the 16 to 18-year sentences imposed on five "anti-mafia" police officers convicted in 2008 of beating to death 38-year-old Angel Dimitrov in the city of Blagoevgrad. The police officers appealed against their sentences to the Supreme Court of Cassation."
http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/countries/europe/bulgaria
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"NATO promotes democratic values..." Hmmm. Bulgaria was found "in violation of the prohibition of torture or degrading treatment..." -- not good,not good at all. "Romani community continued to suffer discrimination in education, housing and health care." -- this mistreatment of the Romani community seems to be a pattern in several of the new NATO member states we have looked at so far; Hungary and Slovakia were cited in a similar fashion by Amnesty.
Combat use of F-16s in Mideast spurs fresh demand: Lockheed
"Combat use of Lockheed Martin Corp's (LMT.N) F-16 fighter jets in air strikes over Yemen, Syria and Iraq is spurring fresh demand for the warplane, which has sold 4,588 times and is in use by 27 countries, according to Lockheed officials.
Randy Howard, director of Lockheed's integrated fighter group, told Reuters that current F-16 orders would keep the production line running through the fourth quarter of 2017, but other opportunities in Indonesia, the Gulf, eastern Europe and other regions could extend the line well into 2019 and beyond.
Rick Groesch, regional vice president for Lockheed in the Middle East, said a number of countries in the Gulf already operated F-16 jets, but others were taking a closer look after seeing successful use of the jets against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, and insurgents in Yemen.
Combat operations are "certainly opening the eyes of the various air forces to the sense that it makes to have interoperability with your neighbor if you’re flying," Groesch told Reuters.
Lockheed has sold F-16s to Oman, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt and United Arab Emirates, but remains in discussions with Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia about other potential opportunities, Groesch said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/09/us-dubai-airshow-lockheed-fighter-idUSKCN0SY0VD20151109?mod=related&channelName=Aerospace#8ypfZ6zlBwjZL6DQ.97
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War is good for business! It's sad that the "defense industries", read arms manufacturing and sales, is one of the last strong manufacturing sectors left in the American economy.
Boeing frustrated with delays in U.S. approvals for Gulf fighter sales
Boeing Co (BA.N) is "a little frustrated" with delays in getting U.S. government approvals for fighter jet sales to countries in the Gulf region, but hopes to see movement on those deals early next year, a senior Boeing executive said on Monday.
Jeff Kohler, Boeing's vice president for international business development, told reporters the government review process had taken longer than expected.
"We’re a little frustrated, and I know the customers are in the region," he said at the Dubai Airshow, without giving details about the specific deals or the number of jets involved. Boeing generally will not discuss specific buyers since arms sales are negotiated between governments.
...
Kohler, who formerly headed the Pentagon agency that oversees foreign arms sales, said the delays reflected a larger problem - that the U.S. government had not expanded its capacity to process arms deals despite a large increase in such transactions by many of the biggest weapons makers in recent years.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/09/us-dubai-airshow-boeing-fighters-idUSKCN0SY0FS20151109#qvjl12TU3VKcTBfH.97
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Nice revolving door! Kohler, "who formerly headed the Pentagon agency that oversees foreign arms sales" is NOW "Boeing's vice president for international business development", in other words, an arms dealer. Nice. Real Nice.
But let's not be too critical, we all know that what the "Gulf Region", cough Saudi Arabia cough, needs is more fighter bombers to pummel wedding parties in Yemen with. /sarcasm
King "Slick Sal" Salman of Saudi Arabia loves those Boeing fighter bombers!
G20 finalizes tools for ending 'too big to fail' banks
Source: Reuters
Global regulators set out their "final tools" on Monday for ending the phenomenon of "too big to fail" banks, seeking to draw a line under a period of intensive rule making after a financial crisis that tarnished the sector and weighed heavily on taxpayers.
Mark Carney, chairman of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) that coordinates regulation across the Group of 20 economies (G20) to plug gaps highlighted by the 2007-09 financial crisis, said many of the key reforms have been implemented decisively and promptly.
"As a consequence, the financing capacity to the real economy is being rebuilt and significant retrenchment from international activity has been avoided," Carney said in a letter to G20 leaders ahead of their summit next week.
The G20 tasked the FSB in 2009 with introducing a welter of reforms from increasing bank capital requirements to shining a light on derivatives markets and curbing bankers' bonuses.
Carney, who is also Governor of the Bank of England, said the board has now finalised the tools needed to wind down "too big to fail" banks in an orderly way if necessary, seen as the last major financial reform of the crisis.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/09/us-g20-regulations-carney-idUSKCN0SY0PL20151109#aEHh2KcRuWX35ohY.97
Pardon my cynicism, but I will believe the elimination of "too big to fail" banks when I see it.
Myanmar ruling party concedes poll defeat as Suu Kyi heads for landslide
Source: Reuters
Myanmar's ruling party conceded defeat in the country's general election on Monday, as the opposition led by democracy figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi appeared on course for a landslide victory that would ensure it can form the next government.
"We lost," Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) acting chairman Htay Oo told Reuters in an interview a day after the Southeast Asian country's first free nationwide election in a quarter of a century.
The election commission later began announcing constituency-by-constituency results from Sunday's poll. All of the first 12 announced were won by Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy (NLD).
The NLD said its own tally of results from polling stations around the country showed it on track to win more than 70 percent of the seats being contested in parliament, more than the two-thirds it needs to form Myanmar's first democratically elected government since the early 1960s.
"They must accept the results, even though they don't want to," NLD spokesman Win Htein told Reuters, adding that in the highly populated central region the Nobel peace laureate's party looked set to win more than 90 percent of seats.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/09/us-myanmar-election-idUSKCN0SW0TP20151109#zlDhhwr4rhhCFI5B.97
Democracy in action! A huge step forward for the people of Myanmar.
Get to know a NATO member: Slovakia
"NATO’s essential purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.
POLITICAL - NATO promotes democratic values and encourages consultation and cooperation on defence and security issues to build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.
MILITARY - NATO is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military capacity needed to undertake crisis-management operations. These are carried out under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty - NATO’s founding treaty - or under a UN mandate, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organizations."
http://www.nato.int/nato-welcome/
Let's take a look at what Amnesty International has to say about the state of democracy in some of the newer NATO member states, today's member -- Slovakia.
"Slovakia Human Rights
Education
In September, the UN Human Rights Council raised concerns under the Universal Periodic Review about the situation of the Romani minority in Slovakia, including the disproportionate enrolment of Romani children in special schools.
In May, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) recommended that data be collected to monitor the impact of public policies on minorities, including Roma. Due to lack of data disaggregated by ethnicity and gender, the government was unable to assess the composition of different types of schools.
Although discrimination and segregation are prohibited by legislation, effective legal and policy measures that would ensure implementation in practice were still not in place. Romani children continued to be segregated in schools and classes providing inferior education.
In May, ECRI urged Slovakia to take measures to remove Roma children who had no disabilities from special elementary schools and integrate them into mainstream education. It also urged that allegations of discriminatory practices against Roma in schools be investigated, and that policies be introduced to prevent placing children from minority groups in separate classes.
In September, the Roma Education Fund reported that the proportion of Romani children attending special schools was almost 60 per cent, and the proportion in special classes with substandard education in mainstream schools was 85.8 per cent. It called on the government to abolish special primary schools for children with mild mental disability.
The special school in Pavlovce nad Uhom underwent further inspections in 2009. In 2008, 99.5 per cent of the pupils were Roma, and were often transferred to the school without any assessment. An inspection carried out between April and May demonstrated that there were still many Romani children in the special school who had never been diagnosed with mental disability. The State School Inspectorate recommended that the school's director be dismissed; he resigned in November.
Forced sterilization of Romani women
In a response to the outcome of the Universal Periodic Review, Slovakia announced that it had adopted legislative measures, including requiring health workers to seek informed consent for sterilization and the definition of a new criminal offence of "illegal sterilization". However, according to the Centre for Civil and Human Rights ((Porad?a pre ob?ianske a ?udské práva), the Ministry of Health Care failed to issue any implementing guidelines on sterilizations and informed consent for health workers. In addition, the authorities were still failing to carry out thorough, impartial and effective investigations into all cases of alleged forced sterilizations.
In April, in the case of K.H. and others v. Slovakia, the European Court of Human Rights found Slovakia in violation of the right to private and family life and the right to access to court. The case involved eight Romani women who suspected that the reason for their infertility might be that a sterilization procedure was performed on them during their Caesarean delivery in hospitals in eastern Slovakia. The women were refused full access to the official documentation relating to their medical treatment. The Court ruled that the state must give access to files containing personal data, and must permit copies to be made. The government requested that the case be reviewed by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights.
Reproductive rights
In June, parliament adopted an Amendment to the Law on Health Care and Health Care Services, introducing a 48-hour waiting period for women seeking an abortion on request. This breaches WHO guidelines which state that waiting periods unnecessarily delay care and decrease safety. The Amendment also stipulated that personal data such as identity numbers should be collected to record the women seeking abortions."
"Hitler's return makes for uneasy comedy"
By Leonid Bershidsky
"The movie "He's Back," a comedy that revolves around the return of Adolf Hitler to modern-day Germany, is a huge hit. There may be more than meets the eye to this success, however.
The film, which opened a month ago, tops the German box office, and has been seen by more than 1.7 million people. It's based on an equally successful first novel (titled "Look Who's Back" in English translation) by the former journalist and ghostwriter Timur Vermes that became a surprise hit in 2012. The three years between the two releases have only made the subject matter more relevant.
In Vermes's first-person story, Hitler awakens in a construction site in modern Berlin, a little dirty and disoriented, but in full control of his faculties. He has slept 66 years. Wandering the streets, he is soon adopted by a newspaper salesman, who thinks the fuehrer is a down-on-his-luck actor. Hitler becomes a TV star and even starts a modest political career. Throughout, he doesn't make the slightest effort to hide who he is, which is the catalyst for dozens of comical situations: Some think he's funny, others like him, even though he spouts the same virulent rhetoric that brought him to power.
At the end of "Look Who's Back," Hitler gets a book deal. "We don't want a comedy book," the publisher tells him. "I think it's in your interest, too. The fuehrer doesn't make jokes, right?" Hitler accepts.
As it happens, Hitler's "Mein Kampf" is being reissued in Germany early next year, for the first time since World War II. Vermes said the Nazi leader's ideological treatise/autobiography provided the inspiration for Hitler's voice in the book -- stilted, pretentious and old-fashioned. Vermes couldn't have bought his copy in a German bookstore: the Bavarian government, which owns the copyright to "Mein Kampf," has not allowed it to be published. The copyright will run out on Dec. 31, 2015, though, and IFZ, the Munich-based Institute for Contemporary History, will publish an edition of the book with painstaking notes explaining where Hitler's ideas came from as well as their consequences.
So, with the return of "Mein Kampf," the fuehrer really will be back: Anyone who wants to hear him out will be given that chance. It's far from certain, however, that all readers will be more interested by historians' commentary than by Hitler's ideas. Vermes's story of a returning fuehrer has already repeated itself as a farce this year.
A year ago, the anti-immigration group Pegida (an acronym for "Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West"
held demonstrations in the eastern German city of Dresden to protest the influx of Muslim immigrants. At the movement's peak, 26,000 people were in the streets, scaring mainstream German politicians and giving rise to counter-demonstrations in many cities. Pegida was derailed, however, when Facebook posts by its leader, the businessman Lutz Bachmann, came to light that contained hate speech (he called immigrants "animals" as well as a picture of Bachmann decked out as Hitler. "
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-11-06/hitler-s-return-makes-for-uncomfortable-comedy
====================
Huh. I guess standards are really slipping in Germany these days... "Hitler's "Mein Kampf" is being reissued in Germany early next" and this schlock that humanizes Hitler and trivializes his vitriol "is a huge hit".
Good Lord.
Asylum seeker found dead after escaping Christmas Island detention centre
Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation
An asylum seeker has died on Christmas Island after he escaped from the Australian-run detention centre on Saturday morning.
Key points:
Immigration Department says detention centre staff reported a man missing on Saturday morning
Australian Federal Police found man's body on Sunday
Refugee Action Coalition says man who died was Iranian Kurd in his 30s
Australian Federal Police found the body on Sunday after a day-long search for the man.
The Department of Immigration and Border Protection confirmed the escape and death on Sunday evening and said the matter was being investigated by the coroner. The department said in a statement that service provider staff reported an "illegal maritime arrival" had escaped from centre on Saturday morning.
"The matter was referred to the Australian Federal Police who commenced a search and discovered a deceased person today," the statement said. The Refugee Action Coalition said the detainee was an Iranian Kurdish man in his 30s.
Border protection officials said the situation remained calm at the detention centre.
Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-08/asylum-seeker-who-escaped-christmas-island-dies/6922666
Australia has a VERY controversial refugee policy that critics label racist and a sad throwback to Australia's historical exclusion of "non-whites" :
"So why does Australia have tough asylum policies?
Domestically, asylum is a hot political issue. Polls have shown that a significant number of Australians approve of taking a tougher stance.
The two biggest political parties adopted tough policies ahead of the September 2013 polls. The Tony Abbott-led Liberal-National coalition, which won, had campaigned in part on a "stop the boats" platform.
The government says the journey the asylum seekers make is dangerous and controlled by criminal gangs and they have a duty to stop it. Critics say opposition to asylum is often racially motivated and is damaging Australia's reputation.
What did the last government do?
The Labor government reintroduced offshore processing in Nauru and Papua New Guinea (PNG) - a policy it had ended in 2008.
The government pays outsourced contractors to operate and provide security at temporary detention camps for asylum seekers on the Pacific islands.
It also reached a deal with PNG that any asylum seekers judged to be genuine refugees would be resettled in PNG, not Australia."
The camps on PNG and Nauru are controversial, with activists condemning living conditions
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-28189608
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