Australia refutes 'human trafficking' charge

The tiny island nation of Kiribati, one of the places Australia hopes to redirect asylum seekers

SYDNEY, Australia -- Australia has strongly refuted a charge it is in the business of human trafficking by encouraging Pacific island nations to accept boatloads of asylum seekers.

Australian Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock defended Australia's stance on asylum seekers, after a slew of religious and groups accused the country of using aid deals to lure Pacific nations into accepting boat people.

As controversy over Australia's immigration policy escalates, Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Sir Mekere Morauta sacked his foreign minister John Pundari after he leaked an official Australian government communiqué requesting PNG to accept another group of asylum seekers, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported on Friday.

In August, the conservative government of Prime Minister John Howard began turning away all asylum seekers caught trying to sneak into Australia in boats operated by people smugglers

Since then, hundreds of refugees have been shipped by Australia to hastily built camps on Nauru, a tiny island in the Pacific, and Papua New Guinea.

Kiribati and Fiji are also investigating the possibility of taking in refugees.

'Soliciting trade'

EXTRA INFORMATION Australia's tide of refugees     CNN.com Asia More news from our Asia edition   COUNTRY PROFILE At a glance: Australia Provided by CountryWatch.com

The Pacific Conference of Churches, the World Council of Churches issued a statement criticizing multimillion dollar deals being negotiated by the federal government with Pacific nations, including Nauru, Kiribati and Fiji for those cash-strapped nations to set up detention camps for refugees.

"We are also concerned that accepting the Australian aid deals will make Pacific Island governments part of the process that solicits money/profits out of trade in human trafficking, and in this case the asylum seekers," the statement said.

But speaking Friday on Sydney radio station 2GB, Ruddock rejected the claims.

"The trafficking was by the smugglers," Ruddock said.

"What we're seeking to do is to ensure that people are safe and secure and that their processing can occur in places where they will be safe and secure and where any claims can be properly addressed," he added.

Ruddock said arrangements such as those being negotiated with Fiji, which has indicated it will take 1,000 Afghan asylum seekers and most likely house them in a former leper colony, were necessary to allow the refugees' asylum applications to be processed under international guidelines.

The government has accused Australian courts of being too lenient in their granting of asylum applications, leading to a perception among refugees that Australia was a good country to head for.

"In relation to offshore processing, it is in our interests to have people not reach Australia, and (processed) under rules that are not as relaxed as ours became while the courts were supervising judicially the decision making," Ruddock said.

Tough stance

Fiji has become the latest Pacific island nation to admit that it was approached by Australia to accept up to 1,000 asylum seekers for processing.

Fijian Foreign Minister Kaliopate Tavola told the Fiji Times that it was considering the proposal but Australia would be expected to fund the establishment and maintenance of the processing facilities.

Outlining Canberra's proposal, the Australian high commissioner to Fiji Susan Boyd told Tavola that Australia wanted Fiji to accept 700 to 1,000 asylum seekers.

But that number could increase depending on how many more boat people were intercepted in the Indian Ocean.

Tavola said the asylum seekers would not be allowed to resettle in Fiji and that genuine applicants would be sent to Australia or New Zealand. Others would be sent back to their home country.

A task force committee will meet next week to look into the proposal.

Political issue

Dealing with asylum seekers has become a fierce political issue in Australia ahead of a November 10 federal election.

The issue escalated in August when the government refused to allow a Norwegian freighter that picked up hundreds of asylum seekers from landing at Australia's Christmas Island.

After a standoff lasting several days, the asylum seekers were eventually transported by the Australian Navy to New Zealand and Nauru.

Over the past week, 374 asylum seekers drowned after the vessel they boarded in Indonesia sank en route to Australia.

Indonesia said it is investigating allegations that corrupt police officers were part of a people smuggling ring that forced the asylum seekers onto the 20-meter vessel.

On Friday, there were reports that two Indonesian police were detained in relation to the allegations and that another boat laden with would-be refugees was heading for Australia.