Australia lauds RI and Malaysia

Australia lauds RI and Malaysia

Associated Press, Adelaide, Australia

Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer paid tribute on Sunday
to Indonesia and Malaysia for their recent efforts to crack down
on people smuggling.

"The Indonesians and the Malaysians have been taking much more
decisive action against the people smugglers themselves and we
appreciate that," Downer said.

"For example, the Malaysians during the course of last week
deported an Iraqi people smuggler from Malaysia. It was a good
measure," he added.

Indonesia is in the process of organizing a summit aimed at
bringing together different countries to hammer out a regional
solution to the growing problem of criminal gangs who ship
illegal immigrants from Asia to Australia.

Downer was speaking on the eve of a tour of Pacific nations
during which he hopes to persuade governments to accommodate
asylum seekers turned away by Australia under a hardline new
policy adopted in August.

Downer is expected during his trip to ask Nauru President Rene
Harris to take 500 more asylum seekers for processing. The nation
already accommodates 800 in camps, with Australia footing the
bill.

Downer will visit Nauru, Fiji, Vanuatu and New Zealand during
the course of his trip, which begins on Monday.

In another development, Australia's controversial boat people
detention centers came under fresh criticism on Sunday, this time
from psychiatrists and doctors saying the centers were damaging
the mental health of asylum seekers.

The Australian and New Zealand Royal College of Psychiatrists
called on Sunday for its members not to work in detention centers
saying they were traumatizing the boat people.

"All medical practitioners should think carefully about the
ethical issues involved before they accept any positions in the
detention centers...," said college chair Louise Newman.

"These are environments that are fundamentally traumatizing
and disturbing to the people who are in them. There is nothing in
the way of adequate treatment of individuals and children who are
suffering the effects of trauma -- some of whom are very
depressed, suicidal and self-harming," said Newman.

An article published in the yet-to-be-released December issue
of the Medical Journal of Australia said the intimidating and
harsh environment of detention centers threatened the mental
health of asylum seekers, said Australian Associated Press.

The authors, one of whom was detained in Sydney's Villawood
center, warned prolonged confinement in detention centers could
have severe psychologically disabling effects on asylum seekers,
said the domestic agency.

"The physical environment (of Villawood) is intimidating," Dr
Aemer Sultan, an Iraqi, and his co-author psychologist Kevin
O'Sullivan, said in the journal report.

"We have observed harsh and uncompassionate handling of asylum
seekers by staff," they said.

The authors found most detainees were at risk of, or suffered,
post-traumatic illnesses before arriving in Australia, with
detention further threatening their psychological state.

"Detainees are routinely handcuffed during transportation to
and from the facility for medical or legal appointments," they
said. "Concerns have been raised about doctors authorizing
sedative medication for containment..."