United Nations lukewarm on Tony Abbott's Cambodia solution
Lindsay Murdoch
South-East Asia correspondent for Fairfax Media

BANGKOK: -- The United Nations has no plans to boost its presence in Cambodia despite the Abbott government's claim it is working "closely" with the agency in a controversial plan to resettle refugees there.

"There are no plans to expand our two-person office in Phnom Penh at this point," said Vivian Tan, a spokeswoman for the agency in Bangkok.

The UN's refusal to react immediately to the plan, which it has described as a deeply concerning precedent, comes as Cambodian officials play down the possibility of any refugees being sent by Australian within months, possibly years, despite Australia having already committed $40 million in additional aid to the country.

Cambodia's Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said his country wants to take far fewer refugees than expected after an initial pilot program that could involve only a handful of people.

"It would be 20 or 10 or 50 or 100 or something like this. Not 1000 as people have said," Mr Khieu Sopheak told the Phnom Penh Post.

After Australia's Immigration Minister Scott Morrison sipped champagne to celebrate the agreement in Phnom Penh last weekend, Cambodian officials have detailed a long process before any refugees are resettled in villages and communes outside the capital Phnom Penh.

Full story: http://www.theage.com.au/world/united-nations-lukewarm-on-tony-abbotts-cambodia-solution-20140930-10nzst.html


-- The Age 2014-09-30

another load of Abbott bs , this idiot couldnt lay straight in bed . not looking forward to going home to Aus for my 2 year residency next year with the libs in power and this <deleted> in charge .

Yep, he's a unit eh. When the Malaysian Solution was put forward for boat arrivals by the previous mob they were shouted down and told what a bad solution it was as the refugees were going to be sent to a place that hadn't signed the UN Refugee Convention.

And now these two-faced clowns want to send them to Cambodia, one of the poorest nations IN THE WORLD and who have senior peeps in the government ranks who were involved in the Khmer Rouge?

Can't wait to vote these fleas out.

Refugees sent to Cambodia. I'm sure that will be pleasant for all involved.

Jokeshop.

another load of Abbott bs , this idiot couldnt lay straight in bed . not looking forward to going home to Aus for my 2 year residency next year with the libs in power and this <deleted> in charge .

Not enough to rubbish someone's idea unless you have a better one mate,

unless of course you want more refuges to come live next door to you perhaps?

the refuges will never stop coming unless they will know that they will not

be settled in Australia no matter what, thanks to the previous dickheads governments

that all those jetsam and flotsam of quality people come in to Oz willy nilly..

and what we get now? jihadist and ISIS disciples in our midst..

Who cares they are not refugees any way , The UN is all about the UN , Australia is full we have so many migrants if you visited the country you would think you were in the middle east , or India or China, Multiculturalism simply does not work.

I'm sure the " 20 or 10 or 50 or 100 or something like this" refugees in Australia are not celebrating with champagne over the latest agreement for resettlement. Maybe they can find their way to New Zealand?

Who cares they are not refugees any way , The UN is all about the UN , Australia is full we have so many migrants if you visited the country you would think you were in the middle east , or India or China, Multiculturalism simply does not work.

Thanks for the chuckle

Try the UK, now that is FULL

Tony Bloody Abbott the wanna be if he could be

Send him back to England where he came from

So far he has stuffed or tried to stuff every thing he could

Except his approx. $500,000 income each year till death

Funny how he wants to cut pensions but wont cut HIS wage

How long is this idiot called Abbott going to be tolerated by the people of Australia. It's a wonder he doesn't send everyone over 65 to Cambodia. He is doing his best to kill off the senior population by his total mismanagement of the pension system with the justification of saving spending, (a not so subtle form of genocide). He is spending millions trolling around in the Indian Ocean for an aircraft that is lost, obviously with no survivors when those millions could well be spent on those still alive in Australia. It's totally unbelievable,

This is a shameful deal by a richer country with a corrupt power clique in a very poor place. I am ashamed. This was organised by Scott Morrison, who is a happy clappy christian of some sort. Not much of the good samaritan in that theology, methinks. No I do not think every boat arrival is a refugee. There again if we continue aiding and abetting the invasions of other countries, refugees are likely to be created.

Tony Bloody Abbott the wanna be if he could be

Send him back to England where he came from

So far he has stuffed or tried to stuff every thing he could

Except his approx. $500,000 income each year till death

Funny how he wants to cut pensions but wont cut HIS wage

Was he really born and bred in England? How strange. Julia Watshername, his memorable predecessor, was Welsh.

Can't you get a real Australian PM? Oh, that would be a native Australian. Still can't be worse than Abbott and Lady Julia.

Edited October 1, 201411 yr by Baerboxer

"It would be 20 or 10 or 50 or 100 or something like this. Not 1000 as people have said," Mr Khieu Sopheak told the Phnom Penh Post.
What a joke.Australian govt,rekon they will spend $A40 million over 4 years.The cheapest it could be is $400k/person.Hun Sen will be pleased,plenty of fat to be trimmed there.

another load of Abbott bs , this idiot couldnt lay straight in bed . not looking forward to going home to Aus for my 2 year residency next year with the libs in power and this <deleted> in charge .

Not enough to rubbish someone's idea unless you have a better one mate,

unless of course you want more refuges to come live next door to you perhaps?

the refuges will never stop coming unless they will know that they will not

be settled in Australia no matter what, thanks to the previous dickheads governments

that all those jetsam and flotsam of quality people come in to Oz willy nilly..

and what we get now? jihadist and ISIS disciples in our midst..

Where do you expect them to live,in a bombed out pile of rubble that we condoned and perpetrated.I would have no problem with refugees from anywhere living next to me,better than a person with no empathy or compassion.

Who cares they are not refugees any way , The UN is all about the UN , Australia is full we have so many migrants if you visited the country you would think you were in the middle east , or India or China, Multiculturalism simply does not work.

I hope you dont live in Thailand with an attitude like that.

another load of Abbott bs , this idiot couldnt lay straight in bed . not looking forward to going home to Aus for my 2 year residency next year with the libs in power and this <deleted> in charge .

Not enough to rubbish someone's idea unless you have a better one mate,

unless of course you want more refuges to come live next door to you perhaps?

the refuges will never stop coming unless they will know that they will not

be settled in Australia no matter what, thanks to the previous dickheads governments

that all those jetsam and flotsam of quality people come in to Oz willy nilly..

and what we get now? jihadist and ISIS disciples in our midst..

Where do you expect them to live,in a bombed out pile of rubble that we condoned and perpetrated.I would have no problem with refugees from anywhere living next to me,better than a person with no empathy or compassion.

Very easy to be so magnanimous when there's not much likelihood of ever having to do what you offered.

another load of Abbott bs , this idiot couldnt lay straight in bed . not looking forward to going home to Aus for my 2 year residency next year with the libs in power and this <deleted> in charge .

Don't go !!! I would be interested in your solution regarding resettlement of Illegal immigrants.....could it be something like the deal with Malaysia proposed by the Gillard Labour Government ??

Who cares they are not refugees any way , The UN is all about the UN , Australia is full we have so many migrants if you visited the country you would think you were in the middle east , or India or China, Multiculturalism simply does not work.

I hope you dont live in Thailand with an attitude like that.

And I hope you don't live in Thailand with your attitude !! Thailand doesn't need more socialists.

another load of Abbott bs , this idiot couldnt lay straight in bed . not looking forward to going home to Aus for my 2 year residency next year with the libs in power and this <deleted> in charge .

Don't go !!! I would be interested in your solution regarding resettlement of Illegal immigrants.....could it be something like the deal with Malaysia proposed by the Gillard Labour Government ??

He's going because he has to spend the two years to qualify for an OAP. Sometimes you have to eat a little crow.

This 'asylum' bullshit needs to end, everyone knows that at least 99.5% of 'asylum seekers' are liars who are really just economic immigrants, they want to come to Australia illegally w/o going thru the proper immigration channels so they can live and work there.. they are illegal immigrants..the Iran, China, Pakistan, Indonesia, whatever are not going to torture and jail these people because of their 'politics' if the human traffickers fail in their mission.

If you really are a political dissident or fleeing religious persection then you would have ample evidence of such, instead these people just show up and 'say' they are being persecuted with nothing to back it up.. in places like Iraq,Syria, Sudan, Myanmar where people really have fled violence and persecution these people wind up in border UN administered refugee camps, they don't buy plane tickets and get on boats to travel all the way to europe or australia. If europe and Australia DO take people like that in then they are just helping the ethnic cleansers achieve their goal. Arab countries that host Palestinian refugee camps have always said that they will not give rights to palestinian refugees specifically for this reason.. so why should Australia help racist ethnic cleansers in Myanmar by accepting the Rohghya, doing that will encourage more ethnic cleansing as developing countries all over the world just dump their unwanted 'inferior' ethnic groups in Australia.

why is t always a 'white' western country that has to take everyone's refugees? why not dump them in Brazil or Ecuador or Morocco..why do they always have to go half-way around the world to 'escape from persecution' the logic of the westren 'liberals' that advocate allowing them in is that//.."well, all those non-white countries are savages anyways.. so these people would be just as abused in Ghana as they would in Myanmar"..it's bullshit but that's literally the way western liberals think.

Edited October 1, 201411 yr by pkspeaker

Who cares they are not refugees any way , The UN is all about the UN , Australia is full we have so many migrants if you visited the country you would think you were in the middle east , or India or China, Multiculturalism simply does not work.

I hope you dont live in Thailand with an attitude like that.

Thais are immigrants from China.

"It would be 20 or 10 or 50 or 100 or something like this. Not 1000 as people have said," Mr Khieu Sopheak told the Phnom Penh Post.

What a joke.Australian govt,rekon they will spend $A40 million over 4 years.The cheapest it could be is $400k/person.Hun Sen will be pleased,plenty of fat to be trimmed there.

The $40 million is additional aid promised to Cambodia, smells like tea money to me. The Oz government has not put any numbers on the table for resettlement and support costs.

The people being relocated from Nauru to Cambodia will be volunteers, right now only 4 / 6 have put their hand in the air. I guess there may be some more as for the moment no option for any of them but to be stuck in limbo for years on Nauru. UNHCR has said average wait time for processing is around ten years.

A few days back Immi Minister said Oz, in practice, no longer complies with the UN Convention for Refugees.

Looks like the Cambodian solution, will end up being as farcical and costly as the PNG Solution.