MELBOURNE, Australia
Australia has turned back more than 600 asylum seekers under the border protection policy of Prime Minister Tony Abbott, the immigration minister confirmed Thursday.
Peter Dutton said that 23 asylum-seeker boats with 633 people on board had not been permitted to arrive on Australia’s shores since December 2013 when Operation Sovereign Borders was launched.
“We have had 20 successful turnback operations. We have had 633 people that would have arrived otherwise on those ventures,’’ The Australian quoted him as saying.
He also underlined that 12 months had passed since any asylum seekers had landed on Australian soil.
“We have a year since we have had a successful people smuggling operation and that is good news because we have had no reported deaths under Operation Sovereign Borders at sea,’’ he said.
“We have been able to stare down these evil people smugglers that would trade in bringing people to our country and under Operation Sovereign Borders - not to have had a successful people smuggling venture for 12 months - is a very significant outcome.’’
Abbott’s government was elected in 2013 after pledging to "stop the boats" of migrants and asylum-seekers trying to enter the country, and began implementing Operation Sovereign Borders within months.
The country also has a controversial policy of using offshore detention centers in Nauru and Papua New Guinea to process asylum seekers who arrive by sea on boats.
