The SIEVX: conspiracy or tragedy?

So far none of the Ministers involved in the people smuggling disruption program has categorically ruled out if the disruption program in Indonesia ever involved anyone sabotaging a people smuggling vessel.

Issam Ismail, a SIEVX survivor stated: “The Indonesian Police were there. They were carrying automatic guns. They were so comfortable. They were the ones who gave the signals with their torches. Turning on the torch was a signal to send out people. Turning off the torch meant stop. That was how it was done. We saw them with our own eyes. They had weapons we had never seen before. The latest brands.”

It is quite extraordinary that no official inquiry has taken place into this horrific disaster other than the limited examination by the Senate Select Committee on “A Certain Maritime Incident” (CMI). The first recommendation of the CMI Report was for a judicial inquiry into people smuggling disruption activities undertaken in Indonesia by Australian and Indonesian police. Needless to say, the Howard Government totally ignored this advice as well as subsequent Senate motions calling for judicial inquiries into disruptive activities and the sinking of SIEVX.

This has to be the lowest point of Australian politics. How is it possible that a government can get away with covering up the largest Australian-related civilian catastrophe in the history of this country? Many documents have been branded “confidential” and many contradictory stories have been presented to the public ever since the day the government claimed SIEVX sank in Indonesian waters.

Many questions remain unanswered

• How is it possible that the DFAT cable contained such detailed information on the route taken by the SIEVX and where it sank? The whole voyage is described from the departure at 1.30am on October 18 to the arrival of the rescued survivors in Jakarta at 6.00pm on Monday, October 22, 2001.
• Could the mystery vessels that appeared in the night have belonged to the Indonesian police or military?
• How did the Australian Federal Police have such detailed photos (including an aerial shot) of the SIEVX?
• Why was Abu Quassey (the people smuggler involved with the SIEVX) not brought to justice in Australia for his role in the 353 deaths?
• By late 2000 the AFP had set up a functioning people-smuggling disruption program in Indonesia. What exactly did this entail?
• Was the SIEVX deliberately sabotaged?
• What knowledge did the Government have surrounding the SIEVX prior to its departure?

Australia has a moral obligation to address these unresolved questions surrounding SIEVX and the issue of the people smuggling disruption program. This is not only necessary for the survivors who are constantly haunted by visions of that perilous event and the grieving relatives of those who drowned, but also for the conscience of Australian citizens who are concerned that our previous government may somehow have been partly responsible for this tragedy.

Whether there was any knowledge or none at all within the government ranks, the suspicions will remain until such time as there is a judicial inquiry into the whole heart-rending saga surrounding the SIEVX. With the change of Government we - now more than ever - have the opportunity to bring to light the buried truths surrounding this tragedy. As global citizens we have a responsibility to be alert, aware and open - especially when it concerns decision-making tactics by our politicians. If these affect one of us, they affect all of us.

Recommended Reading:

Senate CMI Committee Report - the relevant chapters on SIEVX are referred to on the SIEVX site.

Tony Kevin, A Certain Maritime Incident, (Melbourne: Scribe Publications, 2004)

Aerial surveillance maps on the Sydney Morning Herald site, here, here and here.

Ghassan Nakhoul, “The Five Mysteries of SIEV X,” SBS Radio, October 22, 2002.

Marg Hutton, SIEVX and the DFAT Cable: The Conspiracy of Silence, published on May 20, 2003.

CMI Committee Report October 22, 2002.