APSNet Semi-Weekly Bulletin, June 11, 2009

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APSNet 11 June 2009

  1. Vets lifted by call on atomic tests
  2. RI says Washington should take the lead
  3. PNG government defends mine crackdown
  4. More leeway for new U.S. commander in Afghanistan
  5. Hardheads set to whip defence into line
  6. Hypocrisy and people smuggling

1. Vets lifted by call on atomic tests, Mark Dodd and Pia Akerman, Australian, 2009-06-08

Hundreds of Australian veterans exposed to atomic tests at Maralinga and the Monte Bello Islands in the 1950s have secured a second avenue of appeal for compensation after a landmark ruling in Britain. Buoyed by the decision allowing test veterans the right to sue for damages, former servicemen have given Veterans Affairs Minister Alan Griffin until the end of the month to declare whether Canberra will award compensation and benefits, before lodging a class action.

2. RI says Washington should take the lead, Ary Hermawan, Jakarta Post, 2009-06-10

The Indonesian government said it would ratify a treaty banning the tests of nuclear weapons only after the United States Senate had done so. Indonesia is one of nine countries that have yet to ratify the CTBT. The other countries are China, North Korea, India, Pakistan, Iran, Israel and Egypt. The CTBT will never come into force if those countries do not ratify it.

3. PNG government defends mine crackdown, ABC, 2009-06-11

The government of Papua New Guinea has defended a police crackdown in a village at the site of a foreign-owned mine. Human rights groups have raised concerns that villagers in the Porgera valley were killed and their homes razed by police or security officers earlier this year. But the government says police were brought in to stop thefts from the mine.

4. More leeway for new U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Thom Shanker and Eric Schmitt, NYT, 2009-06-10

The new American commander in Afghanistan has been given carte blanche to handpick a dream team of subordinates, including many Special Operations veterans, as he moves to carry out an ambitious new strategy that envisions stepped-up attacks on Taliban fighters and narcotics networks. The extraordinary leeway granted the commander, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, underscores a view within the administration that the war in Afghanistan has for too long been given low priority and needs to be the focus of a sustained, high-level effort.

5. Hardheads set to whip defence into line, Phillip Coorey, SMH, 2009-06-09

Restoring the relationship between the Government and the military will be the first priority for the new defence ministerial team of John Faulkner and Greg Combet. The decision by Kevin Rudd to place two hardheads – Senator Faulkner and Mr Combet – in charge of defence was a signal he wanted the strong-willed department tamed and a workable relationship re-established.

6. Hypocrisy and people smuggling, Savitri Taylor, APO, June 2009

Most of those actually prosecuted for people smuggling offences thus far have been the foot soldiers, that is to say the crews of suspected illegal entry vessels, or SIEVs. These crews are usually Indonesian fishers who have had to turn to alternative sources of income. The fishers placed in these straits have little choice but to turn to people smuggling.

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