Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott refused to comment on reports that the Australian government has been paying people smugglers to turn back boats packed with asylum seekers, saying that he would “stop the boats by hook or by crook”.
In an interview with radio 3AW on Friday, Mr Abbott said Australia would do “whatever we need to do” to stop asylum seeker boats from reaching the country, adding that Australian border protection officials had been “incredibly creative” in devising strategies.
When pushed to comment on whether Australian authorities had paid people smugglers, Me Abbott responded,
“I just don’t want to go into the details of how it’s done because, like a lot of things that law enforcement agencies have to do, it’s necessary, it’s difficult, and at times I suppose it’s dangerous work but we do it and we’ve stopped the boats.”
His comments sparked a furious reaction from human rights lawyers who said his remarks were “astonishing” and showed Australia was acting with “no moral compass and no moral limit”.
Indonesia’s foreign affairs ministry spokesman, Arrmanatha Nasir, told the Guardian if the allegations are true, Mr Abbott’s comments are “very concerning”.
Australia ‘paid’ smugglers to return asylum boat (10 Jun 2015)
In an interview with radio 3AW on Friday, Mr Abbott said Australia would do “whatever we need to do” to stop asylum seeker boats from reaching the country, adding that Australian border protection officials had been “incredibly creative” in devising strategies.
When pushed to comment on whether Australian authorities had paid people smugglers, Me Abbott responded,
“I just don’t want to go into the details of how it’s done because, like a lot of things that law enforcement agencies have to do, it’s necessary, it’s difficult, and at times I suppose it’s dangerous work but we do it and we’ve stopped the boats.”
His comments sparked a furious reaction from human rights lawyers who said his remarks were “astonishing” and showed Australia was acting with “no moral compass and no moral limit”.
Indonesia’s foreign affairs ministry spokesman, Arrmanatha Nasir, told the Guardian if the allegations are true, Mr Abbott’s comments are “very concerning”.
Australia ‘paid’ smugglers to return asylum boat (10 Jun 2015)
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Shipwrecked asylum seekers appeal for help from New Zealand (06 June 2015)