Quote:
Originally posted by AzureWolf:
Dont know if you Aussies know this, but here in NZ on the news every night they are going on about how much of a dick John Howard is (well he is! ) and that Australia is inhumnane, now dont get me wrong i know the reasons behind not letting them in and i agree with some of them. But this is how australia is being portrayed right now.
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John Howard is playing a very dangerous game, taking the hard line that he is. His reasons for taking the stance he is taking are understandable from a political perspective, because
realpolitik have always been about national interests, and it's in Australia's national interest to not set a precedent here. From a humanitarian point of view it's very callous and inhumane to be haggling over the fates of 468 fellow human beings as if they were pieces of meat. Australia should bite the bullet, take them in to be processed as they can't just be cast adrift in the open sea, Indonesia (which was their last port of call!) and Australia (and perhaps NZ) should divvy them up, then Australia should step up patrols to prevent more incidents like this.
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[This message has been edited by Memnoch (edited 08-31-2001).]