This is quite a good thread IMHO. Not too much rhetoric, & good points allround.
Achilles, the funny thing is, I agree with pretty much all you are saying, yet I still think we did the right thing with the Tampa. What I don't know about this particular incident is
exactly where did the Tampa pick them up & what was the real reason they turned away from Indonesia, if it was the closest port?
I don't think there will ever be a cut & dried answer to this problem. They broke our laws by sailing here without permission or permits etc, yet they claim refugee status which we "legally" accept at face value (generally) prior to processing. As far as I see it, they cancel each other out.
Maybe the solution would be to process them say in Afghanistan. Yeah, I know, the Taliban are
real good like that!! But if we seriously want to stop the smuggling, we have to give them better choices. Perhaps this may be something the UN should now look at. Establish where they are coming from & try to begin dialogue with whichever country people are trying to get the hell out of! I guess it would be bluddy hard to do this in Afghanistan, but considering that the government there felt strongly enough to comment on the plight of their nationals, maybe there is a way.
As this is a global problem, I think the UN should be setting the agenda for the resolution of this problem, rather than a single nation becomming a pariah for taking a stand in the protection of its borders, rightly or wrongly.
