The military man raised his handgun (it was dark almost black and had a shiny side). He pointed it at my head. He was about two metres away.
He then lowered his gun and pulled back the metal slide on top of the gun. He then said ‘Bagus’ (= good) and I then shook my head and said ‘no bagus’.
He then pointed the gun back at my head pulled the trigger and the gun clicked. …When the gun clicked they all laughed at me.
I thought I was finished by that I mean I thought he was going to kill me and I started to cry.
— Abbas Ali Chagizi
(asylum seeker)
in sworn affidavit,
Nauru 2003
Morrison, Abetts and Co have jumped automatically to the line that “illegals” or as some in the Navy calls them “fuxxers” are lying about their treatment at the hands of the Navy.
Before you make up your mind, please read the attached sworn affidavit of alleged mistreatment by Australian Defence Force personnel.
Anecdotal reports from asylum seekers over the past 13 years detail great differences in treatment. Some report care, courtesy and compassion and speak highly of their rescuers.
Others less fortunate report verbal and physical abuse as well as being required to sit hunched up ,on open decks for days with limited food and water for days.
Asylum seekers have also reported that they saw Navy personnel weeping and in one instance a sailor banging his head against the wall in distress at what he was ordered to do.
Naval ships had different cultures according to leadership. The Warramunga for instance had a particularly appalling record in 2001.
Please read this affidavit and the AFP response and judge for yourselves.
Pamela Curr Refugee Rights Coordinator Asylum Seeker Resource Centre 12 Batman St West Melbourne 3003 ph 03 9326 6066 / MOB 0417517075 “AUSTRALIA. Built by boatpeople.”
***
Meanwhile at the A (BBC) covers the government side (as usual):
Acting Prime Minister Warren Truss has defended the Australian Navy over claims asylum seekers were beaten and told to hold on to parts of a hot engine on a boat being towed back to Indonesia.
The claims of physical abuse come amid warnings that Australia risks sea-going clashes with Indonesia over asylum policy, and the admission that Australian ships have entered Indonesian waters without permission.
ABC News has obtained video footage of asylum seekers receiving medical assessments of burns that Indonesian police say were inflicted by the Australian Navy. See http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-22/australian-navy-accused-of-beating-burning-asylum-seekers/5211996
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