Norwegian Piracy

From a small ship the Norwegian freighter MV Tampa has taken on board a human cargo of 438 illegal immigrants en route to Australia. MV Tampa was sailing from an Australian port to an Indonesian destination and deep in Indonesian waters. After taking the human cargo on board, the Norwegian captain Arne Rinnan destroyed the Indonesian vessel, the evidence of origin and seaworthiness, then claiming rescue at high seas, he returned to Australian waters to deliver his illegal cargo to the nearest Australian port, which was immensely farther away than the nearest Indonesian port.

Under international law the illegal human cargo should have been taken to the nearest feasible point of disembarkation; the Indonesian port of Merak.

The re-entry of the Norwegian ship to Australian territorial waters was utterly illegal. The Australian authorities had timely notified Captain Arne Rinnan of disallowing re-entry.

Despite the prohibition, the ship intruded the Australian territorial waters and headed for Christmas Island of Australia. Captain Rinnan claimed he had emergency on board; ten persons were in coma and not responding to medical treatment.

The Australian armed forces and a medical team boarded the vessel. The medical team found no case of emergency on board. The human cargo was in good condition.

Captain Arne Rinnan had lied about the medical emergency on board. Beside dishonesty, the Captain displayed a great deal of incompetence in that; Christmas Island has no port facilities for the size of his vessel. The remote Island has a population of 1,500 and matching medical facilities, no accommodation and food supply exist for the size of human cargo that he wished to dump.

Why did Captain Rinnan chose the long and costly route to Australia? Why did he lie medical emergency to the Australian Government? Why did he intended to put his vessel at risk at waters unfit to accommodate his ship?

Wrecking his old ship on the rocks would have fetched a handsome insurance payout. The humanitarian issue was a plausible cover to put his ship at risk. The situation ghostly resembles B. Traven's novel; The Deathship.

Smuggling of humans does pay. The running cost of MV Tampa is reported at $70,000 per day. Smuggling 438 persons pays $2.19 million to $4.38 million at $5,000 to $10,000 per head.

The Norwegian Captain has presented a clear case of smuggling humans, violating the national borders of Australia, and expected the Australian taxpayers to pay the cost of his criminal venture.

The so called "refugees" on board of Tampa came from countries where $1,000 a year amount to a good income. Yet the "refugees" can afford to pay the exorbitant cost of human smuggling. Furthermore, they can pay the "fare" for their children, spouse, uncles and aunties all on board of MV Tampa. What sort of threat did they escape from, if their governments let them go freely with loads of money in the pockets?

The writer is qualified to ask those questions, because at one stage he was a refugee. He took the deadly risk of escaping political persecution and possible death, but he did not put the lives of his family and friends at risk. He arrived to a safe refuge penniless, without wealth and property. He managed to buy his first possessions; a toothbrush and a cake of soap, from the UN handout of $10 that the International Rescue Committee afforded to give him. It took decades of efforts and change in the political landscape to reunite with his family.

The Government of Norway has chosen to be a party to the crimes at sea. It has taken side with human the smugglers.

The Prime Minister of Norway maintains the lie of emergency in the face of medical evidence. He and his Foreign Minister apparently claim the competence to conduct remote medical examination half way across the Globe, from the northernmost capitals of Oslo and Helsinki to the Southern Hemisphere, probably via extrasensory power (ESP).

By the judgement of the Norwegian Government, the revenues of smuggling humans seem to be a sufficiently handsome income on the side line to trade its integrity. Smuggling of humans has become modern piracy under the cover of humanitarian help, to which Norway's Government has apparently subscribed.

The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Norway are now parties to smuggling humans. They seem to be far too cheap bent politicians. Their culpable leadership has rendered the Norwegian people an accomplice to the crime.

The ship and its dishonest Captain Arne Rinnan, "the boy who called wolf', have to be banned from Australian waters for ever, the diplomatic ties with criminal Norway have to be severed. [Thursday, 11 October 2001 ]

Public opinion polls show a solid 94% opposition to allowing the Norwegian ship offload its human cargo of illegal immigrants on Australian land. The Parliament passed an emergency law to prevent legal appeal against the expulsion of smuggling vessels from Australian territorial waters.

The Senate disallowed the bill. The Australian Labour Party, Australian Democrats and Green Parties voted against it. Those parties prefer to see the Australian borders unprotected.

They have chosen to support the smugglers of humans, drugs and illegal trafficking across the borders.

In serving their own ulterior interests, they have chosen to ignore the greatest majority of electors.

A vote for the Australian Labour Party is a vote for the smugglers of illegal immigrants, for drug trafficking across the national borders.

A vote for the Australian Democrats is a vote for the smugglers of illegal immigrants, for drug trafficking across the national borders.

A vote for the Green Party is a vote for the smugglers of illegal immigrants,
for drug trafficking across the national borders.

PLEASE CONSIDER YOUR VOTE
at the Federal Election of Australia.