BY GILLIAN DAVY
MELBOURNE — At a civic ceremony held February 12 in support of East Timorese asylum seekers was attended by 200 people including local government councillors and state parliamentarians, the message was loud and clear: "Let them stay!"
The event was convened by the mayors of the Melbourne suburban municipalities of Yarra, Dandenong, Moonee Valley, Brimbank and Maribyrnong as a show of solidarity with the 1400 East Timorese asylum seekers living in Victoria who are facing deportation by order of the federal government.
Mayor of Yarra, Councillor Sue Corby, opened the proceedings by stating that the East Timorese were an integral part of the Richmond community, and that it was the express wish of the people of Richmond that they be allowed to stay.
A message from Victorian Premier Steve Bracks was read out in which he called upon immigration minister Philip Ruddock to exercise his ministerial discretion and grant the East Timorese asylum seekers permanent residency on humanitarian grounds.
East Timor's consul general, Abel Guterres, explained that — with housing and infrastructure not yet rebuilt, unemployment running at 85% and access to education limited — East Timor would not be able to cope with a sudden influx of refugees from Australia.
"We love our people", said Guterres, "and we would like to welcome them back, but what can we give them? The East Timorese government is in no position to accept these people to go back. Australians can help them to get a better future and they can become a bridge between East Timor and Australia".
The five mayors signed a declaration pledging to work in collaboration with their local communities to ensure that the desire of the East Timorese to remain in Australia are realised.
From Green Left Weekly, February 19, 2003.
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