[Nettime-bold] Moral Intimidation

["ben moretti" <bmoretti@chariot.net.au>]

Help. That is all I can say. The Australian government is running concentration
camps in the desert where people are being detained for arriving without papers.
I feel so helpless, like so many people of conscience here. The conservative
Liberal-National Coalition has won the election by manipulating racist sentiment.
People in these camps are on hunger strikes and are mutilating themselves including
STITCHING THEIR LIPS TOGETHER. 

Now PM Howard is saying the detainees are subjecting Australians to "moral intimidation"
by protesting so desparately. What is this? A bizarre contradictory phrase -
if I am doing something wrong to you, and you object, is that moral intimidation?
I don't think so.

A friend of mine has written about the immigration minister Phillip Ruddock:


<quote>

Worse still was Herr Ruddock's appearance on the 7.30 Report last night. He
frightens me. 

He said that refugees that arrive with the appropriate documents are processed
in around 14 weeks. Aside from the laughable idea of escaping from a oppressive
regime with documents showing you're a legitimate minority, it shocked me that
e seemed to think 14 weeks was acceptable. The whole document thing reminds
me of those officious German officers you see in WW2 movies: "Vere are your
papers?!". 

And indeed, speaking of Nazis, apart from Dachau, the majority of concentration
camps were based in occupied Poland where the German population wouldn't see
what was going on. Woomera. I mean really, point to it on a map if you can.
The secrecy surrounding these centres is disturbing. I think Mr. & Mrs. Joe
Average-Fuckwit are quite happy with that - they don't want to know what's happening
there, because knowing would mean having to act, having to admit that these
people are human, and are suffering. In fact there's a letter in today's Advertiser
to that effect, Mrs Smedley-Vommit defends the Government's secrecy surrounding
these "centres". (Centre - it's such a nice word, like recreation centre, or
swimming centre.) People, there is evil in our midst. 

A government which fails to act on such a clear moral issue has ceased to be
legitimate. 

</quote>

I have to agree. Note that South Australia is again the compliant State to do
the Federal Government's dirty work. We have a history of this arse licking
behaviour - atomic bomb tests for the Brits in the 50s, Uranium mines, rocket
testing ranges, US satellite tracking stations, concentration camps for Italian
and German immigrants during WW2, military research facilities and now this.


In despair,

Ben Moretti

[This is the print version of story http://www.abc.net.au/news/2002/01/item20020125080108_1.htm]


Fri, Jan 25 2002 1:12 PM AEDT
  
PM claims detainees are morally intimidating Australians

The Prime Minister says protesting asylum seekers at the Woomera Detention Centre
are trying to morally intimidate Australians. 

Mr Howard has all but accused the parents of children involved in lip sewing
protests of child abuse.

Speaking for the first time this year about the Woomera protests, Mr Howard
has told Southern Cross Radio there is evidence children were forced to take
part in lip sewing protests. 

"The children in the proper positive care of their parents don't sew their lips
together do they?"

South Australian authorities are investigating whether there has been any incidence
of child abuse. 

He says a proposal by welfare groups to house asylum seekers would only encourage
more to enter Australia and the Government will not abandon its mandatory detention
policy. 

"People are engaging in self harm, it is being done to morally intimidate the
Australian people and the Government into changing a policy," he said.

"I mean that is the objective, this is moral intimidation."



-- 
ben moretti 
mailto:bmoretti@chariot.net.au
http://www.chariot.net.au/~bmoretti

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