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No Grounds To Bring Afghan Refugees Here
No Grounds To Bring Afghan Refugees Here
National Party Immigration spokesman Wayne Mapp says the Government must not succumb to pressure and 'step in' to the row over hunger striking Afghan asylum seekers on Nauru.
"The New Zealand Government must resist the temptation to intervene as it has done before.
"The political conditions in Afghanistan are a far cry from what they were when those asylum seekers left their country more than two years ago.
"In those circumstances the asylum seekers should be returned to their country of origin," Dr Mapp says.
"There are now even fewer reasons not to adopt that approach.
"Just yesterday the Afghan Government provided proof of the location of all 20 asylum seekers who arrived in Kabul on December 3.
"That completely destroyed claims that asylum seekers were being killed on their return to Afghanistan," Dr Mapp says.
"We should have faith in the international effort to rebuild Afghanistan and the climate that New Zealand is helping to create there.
"In these
matters we must balance our duty as a responsible member of
the international community, with a policy that makes sure
New Zealand isn't seen as a soft touch for anyone who
doesn't like where they live," says Dr Mapp.
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