[Greens-Media] Vanstone blames Australians for West Papuan women's persecution

[Phillips, Max (Sen K. Nettle)]

03.05.06

Vanstone blames Australians for West Papuan women's persecution

Greens Senator Kerry Nettle responded to Senator Vanstone's comments
today on West Papua and imprisoning women and children.

"Senator Vanstone seeks to distract from her government's intention to
lock up asylum seekers including women and children on remote islands
because she can not defend her position," Senator Nettle said.

"Senator Vanstone also conveniently ignores the persecution that some
women and children face in West Papua at the hands of the Indonesian
military. In fact she is seeking to shift the responsibility for
hardship West Papuans face from the Indonesian military to Australians -
77% of whom support self-determination for West Papua.

"The government's new immigration legislation reneges on a promise the
Prime Minister gave to Liberal Party backbenchers last year that the
Australian government would not lock up women and children. The Greens
hope that Coalition MPs will hold the Prime Minister to his commitment
by opposing the new legislation when it is presented to them next week.

"Ferra Kambu, a mother amongst the 42 West Papuans, has spoken about
witnessing the rape, mutilation and murder of women by Indonesian
soldiers in West Papua. Is Senator Vanstone seriously proposing that
women such as Ferra must choose between such a life in West Papua or
imprisonment by Australia on a remote island in the Pacific?

"One imagines that the mother of lone West Papuan asylum seeker left on
Christmas Island wants more for her son that continued detention on a
remote island off the coast of Australia or the imprisonment she and his
father faced at the hands of the Indonesian military. But Senator
Vanstone is proposing to imprison more families, women and children in
remote island detention centres in the Pacific."

The Greens welcome the Get Up TV commercial to be screened today that
focuses on the government's back flip regarding locking up families and
children in detention.

Contact - Damien Lawson 0419 253 342