Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Refugee leaky boat billboard anger
JANE HAMMOND, The West Australian
October 25, 2011, 12:45 pm
Human rights and refugee advocates have slammed as callous billboards in the Pakistan city of Quetta warning people not to come to Australia by leaky boat.
One of the billboards is seen clearly in the background of pictures shot in the aftermath of a September 3 attack on a Shia Muslim rally that killed 42 people and injured another 80.
Jack Smit, from the WA group Project Safecom, said Hazaras who had escaped persecution in Afghanistan by fleeing to Pakistan were being targeted.
“Recent and reported examples provide evidence of a sharp increase in targeted killings of Hazara in Quetta,” Mr Smit said.
He said photos of a recent incident in Quetta showed people cleaning up the bodies of others killed in a suicide bomb with an Australian Government billboard in the background warning people not to come to Australia in “the illegal way”.
He said getting to Australia legally was almost impossible.
“Australia’s callousness is made larger when you realise that you won’t get anywhere with the Australian Embassy in Pakistan or Afghanistan, that the United Nations Refugee Agency UNHCR is under resourced, overworked and often inadequate, if not inappropriate,” Mr Smit said.
A spokesman for Customs and Border Protection said the poster was part of a campaign that ended in mid 2010 but many of the billboards had remained in place.
“On behalf of the Australian government, Customs and Border Protection leads and refines the implementation of counter people smuggling communications campaigns in source and transit countries.
“In 2010-2011, we implemented campaigns in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Indonesia to discourage and deter potential irregular immigrants and crew from becoming involved in people smuggling activities,” the spokesman said.
“Customs and Border Protection conducted this advertising campaign immediately after an April 2010 policy announcement by the Australian government regarding the temporary suspension of the processing of Afghan and Sri Lankan asylum claims.
“The aim of the campaign, which lasted for three months, was to ensure that the government’s policy announcement reached source communities. Although the campaign ceased in mid-2010 some of the campaign posters are still in place.
“To deter and dissuade potential irregular immigrant communities in source and transit countries from embarking on a maritime voyage to Australia, this banner advertising also conveyed messages about the dangers and risks of such a voyage.”
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
October 25, 2011, 12:45 pm
One of the billboards is seen clearly in the background of pictures shot in the aftermath of a September 3 attack on a Shia Muslim rally that killed 42 people and injured another 80.
Jack Smit, from the WA group Project Safecom, said Hazaras who had escaped persecution in Afghanistan by fleeing to Pakistan were being targeted.
“Recent and reported examples provide evidence of a sharp increase in targeted killings of Hazara in Quetta,” Mr Smit said.
He said photos of a recent incident in Quetta showed people cleaning up the bodies of others killed in a suicide bomb with an Australian Government billboard in the background warning people not to come to Australia in “the illegal way”.
He said getting to Australia legally was almost impossible.
“Australia’s callousness is made larger when you realise that you won’t get anywhere with the Australian Embassy in Pakistan or Afghanistan, that the United Nations Refugee Agency UNHCR is under resourced, overworked and often inadequate, if not inappropriate,” Mr Smit said.
A spokesman for Customs and Border Protection said the poster was part of a campaign that ended in mid 2010 but many of the billboards had remained in place.
“On behalf of the Australian government, Customs and Border Protection leads and refines the implementation of counter people smuggling communications campaigns in source and transit countries.
“In 2010-2011, we implemented campaigns in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Indonesia to discourage and deter potential irregular immigrants and crew from becoming involved in people smuggling activities,” the spokesman said.
“Customs and Border Protection conducted this advertising campaign immediately after an April 2010 policy announcement by the Australian government regarding the temporary suspension of the processing of Afghan and Sri Lankan asylum claims.
“The aim of the campaign, which lasted for three months, was to ensure that the government’s policy announcement reached source communities. Although the campaign ceased in mid-2010 some of the campaign posters are still in place.
“To deter and dissuade potential irregular immigrant communities in source and transit countries from embarking on a maritime voyage to Australia, this banner advertising also conveyed messages about the dangers and risks of such a voyage.”
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
Threat to Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline
By Syed Fazl-e-Haider | InpaperMagzine
By pressing Pakistan to shelve IP project, Washington can deprive Iran of the economic bonanza associated with its gas exports to Pakistan, India or China through pipelines, as without Pakistan’s participation, all the proposed pipeline projects from Iran via Pakistan, whether it be the IP, IPI or IPC (Iran-Pakistan-China) would not be feasible. - File photo
The recent surge in target killings of Hazara community is apparently an attempt to subvert the move for building Iran-Pakistan and Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India energy pipelines.
Currently, Islamabad and Tehran are undertaking their gas pipeline project despite the US opposition and without India’s participation.
The attacks on Hazara community have been stepped up since Islamabad and Tehran committed to expedite efforts to implement the $7.5 billion IP gas pipeline project, the greater part of which will traverse the restive Balochistan province. In the latest sectarian attack this month, at least 14 Hazara people were dragged out from a bus, lined up and shot dead in Quetta.
This was the third attack after two major attacks on Hazaras last month in which at least 42 people were killed.
All the attacks have been claimed by militant outfit, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which, many believe, has close association with Jundallah group, a Sunni Muslim militant group fighting for the rights of Baloch population of Iran’s Sistan-Balochistan province, bordering Balochistan.
Instead of IP pipeline, the US has supported the construction of an alternative pipeline from Central Asia through Afghanistan to Pakistan and the Indian Ocean. Iran accuses the US of supporting Jundallah, which is believed to have bases somewhere in Balochistan.
So far, Jundallah has been involved in launching terror attacks in Sistan-Balochistan. Now Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is emerging as a new destabilising factor in Balochistan, where from the IP pipeline will make its first entry into Pakistan.
They intend to scare away potential investors in the IP pipeline.
A surge in Hazars’ killings came in the backdrop of US-Pakistan energy dialogue and Pakistan-Iran Joint Economic Commission (JEC) talks held in Islamabad last month and in both talks, the IP gas pipeline project was key agenda item.
Washington hardened its opposition to IP project and warned Pakistan of the possible impact of US and UN sanctions against Iran during the two-day US-Pakistan strategic dialogue on energy last month. The US instead offered Pakistan the assistance in TAPI gas pipeline project as alternate to IP pipeline.
Islamabad and Tehran signed a $7.5 billion agreement in Tehran on May 23, 2009, finalising the deal to transfer gas from Iran to Pakistan Exactly after five days on May 28, 2009, Iran closed its border with Pakistan following a suicide bomber attack on a mosque in Zahidan that killed 20 people. Jundallah had claimed responsibility for the blast. The diplomatic tension between the two countries mounted at a time when there was no outstanding issue impeding the project for laying a gas pipeline between the two countries.
By pressing Pakistan to shelve IP project, Washington can deprive Iran of the economic bonanza associated with its gas exports to Pakistan, India or China through pipelines, as without Pakistan’s participation, all the proposed pipeline projects from Iran via Pakistan, whether it be the IP, IPI or IPC (Iran-Pakistan-China) would not be feasible.
DAWN
The recent surge in target killings of Hazara community is apparently an attempt to subvert the move for building Iran-Pakistan and Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India energy pipelines.
Currently, Islamabad and Tehran are undertaking their gas pipeline project despite the US opposition and without India’s participation.
The attacks on Hazara community have been stepped up since Islamabad and Tehran committed to expedite efforts to implement the $7.5 billion IP gas pipeline project, the greater part of which will traverse the restive Balochistan province. In the latest sectarian attack this month, at least 14 Hazara people were dragged out from a bus, lined up and shot dead in Quetta.
This was the third attack after two major attacks on Hazaras last month in which at least 42 people were killed.
All the attacks have been claimed by militant outfit, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which, many believe, has close association with Jundallah group, a Sunni Muslim militant group fighting for the rights of Baloch population of Iran’s Sistan-Balochistan province, bordering Balochistan.
Instead of IP pipeline, the US has supported the construction of an alternative pipeline from Central Asia through Afghanistan to Pakistan and the Indian Ocean. Iran accuses the US of supporting Jundallah, which is believed to have bases somewhere in Balochistan.
So far, Jundallah has been involved in launching terror attacks in Sistan-Balochistan. Now Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is emerging as a new destabilising factor in Balochistan, where from the IP pipeline will make its first entry into Pakistan.
They intend to scare away potential investors in the IP pipeline.
A surge in Hazars’ killings came in the backdrop of US-Pakistan energy dialogue and Pakistan-Iran Joint Economic Commission (JEC) talks held in Islamabad last month and in both talks, the IP gas pipeline project was key agenda item.
Washington hardened its opposition to IP project and warned Pakistan of the possible impact of US and UN sanctions against Iran during the two-day US-Pakistan strategic dialogue on energy last month. The US instead offered Pakistan the assistance in TAPI gas pipeline project as alternate to IP pipeline.
Islamabad and Tehran signed a $7.5 billion agreement in Tehran on May 23, 2009, finalising the deal to transfer gas from Iran to Pakistan Exactly after five days on May 28, 2009, Iran closed its border with Pakistan following a suicide bomber attack on a mosque in Zahidan that killed 20 people. Jundallah had claimed responsibility for the blast. The diplomatic tension between the two countries mounted at a time when there was no outstanding issue impeding the project for laying a gas pipeline between the two countries.
By pressing Pakistan to shelve IP project, Washington can deprive Iran of the economic bonanza associated with its gas exports to Pakistan, India or China through pipelines, as without Pakistan’s participation, all the proposed pipeline projects from Iran via Pakistan, whether it be the IP, IPI or IPC (Iran-Pakistan-China) would not be feasible.
DAWN
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