A vigil will start outside Waterhouse Coopers Tower, 186-194 Quay St, Auckland, 4pm on Monday the 18th.
Then march at 5pm from Quay Street up Queen Street towards Aoeta Square.
Background:
On 1October 2009 254 people of Sri Lankan Tamil origin were heading to Australia, seeking asylum from political persecution. The Australian Prime Minister, Mr Hon. Kevin Rudd made a personal phone call to the Indonesian President, Hon Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to intercept the vessel within Indonesian waters. The boat was stopped by the Indonesian Navy and is now marooned in the Javanese port of Merak. The Australian Government have not taken responsibility of the refugees which has led the fate of the 254 Tamil asylum seekers uncertain.
Major issues:
- Inadequate and untimely medical services to the already weakened asylum
- Rudimentary accommodation and appalling sanitation;
- Unhygienic food causing many bouts of diarrhea and gastroenteritis;
- No access to the UNHCR or any other welfare, legal or humanitarian NGO;
- Threat of deportation to Sri Lanka;
- Detention cells and not allowed out of the cell;
- Being treated as criminals. Those who leave the ship are held in crowded detention cells;
- Not allowing the asylum seekers applications for Australian Humanitarian visas;
- Safety concerns with only 18 adult life jackets for 30 children and 224 adults;
- While waiting for the pending solution from the Australian Government, the Tamil asylum seekers have not only face traumatic events but also faced numerous human rights abuses
The March will end at Aotea Square with a few speeches.
Organised by the Tamil community in Auckland
What day is this happening?
Monday 18th January.