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Summary Australia and Malaysia on Monday signed a deal to swap thousands of boatpeople and refugees.
They have signed the controversial deal in a bid to deter future asylum seekers from trying to slip into Australia by sea.Under the agreement opposed by rights groups in both countries, Malaysia will take 800 boatpeople already in Australia in return for Canberra resettling some 4,000 genuine refugees processed by Kuala Lumpur in the next four years.Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard quickly defended the deal, calling it a blow to people smugglers who she said prey on people desperate to flee from countries like Afghanistan, Iraq and Myanmar.My message today to anyone considering paying money to people smugglers and risking their lives: do not do that in the false hope youll be able to have your claim processed in Australia, she told a news conference in Canberra.The standard international practice backed by the United Nations is for asylum seekers to be processed in the country where they land.Addressing fears that refugees may be maltreated in Malaysia, which only two weeks ago arrested 1,600 citizens campaigning for political reform, Gillard vowed that they will be treated with dignity and respect -- a phrase contained in the agreement itself.It was signed by Australian Immigration Minister Chris Bowen and Malaysias Home Affairs Minister Hishammuddin Hussein at a luxury hotel in Kuala Lumpur as a small group of activists held a protest outside.I hope I never get another call telling me that people have drowned trying to make it to Australia and that children as young as two months old have drowned trying to come to Australia, Bowen said.The Australian minister said the boatpeoples transfer to Malaysia would begin immediately while asylum seekers heading to Australia would be held for at least 45 days at transit centres around Kuala Lumpur.They will subsequently be allowed to move into the community, with work rights, access to education and health care, he said in a statement. The plan has sparked concern because Malaysia is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention, nor has it ratified the UN Convention against Torture.
