"Australia will not be apologising to Dr Haneef," Australian Prime Minister John Howard told reporters. [SMH]
And you know what, I couldn’t agree more. Now don’t get me wrong here, personally I think the Australian Prime Minister is an asshole (8 years living in Australia, I have tons of reasons to believe so). However in the Dr Haneef episode, I believe the Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews’ decision to cancel Dr Haneef’s visa on character grounds is completely liable.
Couple of days back, Mumbai Mirror carried out a poll asking whether Indian public felt Haneef had received Justice. And not surprisingly, 75% of voters thought he hadn’t. Frankly speaking I find this a little difficult to comprehend.
Dr. Haneef was linked with some serious charges; “Terrorism†today is taken as one of the most serious threats by any nation, be it first world or third. Agreed nothing substantial came out of the investigation but it’s not that he was ill-treated or beaten black & blue by the Australian authorities. The Australian Investigating team acted on the information provided to them by the British Police and within 4 weeks the matter was sorted out. The Australian Government agreed that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had made mistakes in the case and Haneef was allowed to return to his country. What more justice does he expect?
One cannot even begin to imagine Haneef’s plight if the same accusations would have been laid on him had he been residing in India. Firstly, the Indian Police would have tortured him to the very last bone in his body, secondly the investigation would have taken forever (only resulting him rotting in jail for a long time) and thirdly, who knows whether the Indian Investigating Team would have come clean with their discovery.
In many ways, the recent movement in Dr. Haneef’s case bares loads of similarities with Shilpa Shetty’s revival via reality show, Big Brother. Just like Shilpa, Haneef was showered with powerful support from the Australian public and the media (add to this the Indian reaction as well), he too was labeled with victim of racial injustice by some and in matter of few weeks, he too emerged as the ambassador of Indian Culture and its people.
“I don’t expect an apology from the Australian government or the authorities but I would appreciate if they apologise to my peace-loving country and citizens,†[Haneef] told a press conference here. [DNA]
What a bucket load of bullshit!! This is nothing but 100% pure sympathy (gaining) tactics from the doctor’s camp.
The similarities not end here; Haneef was paid tons of moolah for his appearance in 60 Minutes by the Nine Network just before he left Australia. And if Haneef hires a PR agency as strong as Shilpa’s, then tons of paid interviews, chat-shows, book deals, documentary films, etc are sure shot on the cards. Plus, according to Haneef’s lawyer Peter Russo, his client could be entitled to a hefty compensation payout, as well.
So if you take into consideration all of the above, Haneef should be thankful and not be looking for apologies.
From what I have heard and read – Australia had reasonable doubts to interrogate Dr. Haneef (recklessly providing support to a terrorist organization), they did so appropriately and when no strong evidence was found, Haneef was set free.
As for the visa cancellation, any nation can revoke an individual’s visa if found of suspicious character, it’s their right rule. If only we could follow the same system in this country, now that would be a wishful thinking.
Comments
14 comments | Add your comment »
M
Aug 2nd, 2007 at 9:21 am | #
A lot of Indians are blindly jingoistic. I even believe racial profiling at airports, etc is acceptable. I’d rather be hassled for a few minutes before every flight if it makes the trip safer. Don’t you love how people take the high moral ground when a man is inconvenienced but stay silent for the most part after terrorist strikes which leave a whole lot of death and misery behind?… justifying them as ‘reactions.’
Utsa
Aug 2nd, 2007 at 12:38 pm | #
Sakshi: You’re spot on with your views in the above post. I’d also like to add that the Australian Govt. had every right to conduct a full investigation on Dr. Haneef especially after learning that his cousin was actually one of those accused in London’s recently failed bombings. Couldn’t agree more with you about the way Dr Haneef was treated all the while he was in Police custody during the investigations. He was not only sent back soon but people here in Oz genuinely feel that he is an innocent man, which he probably is. Had he been caught in either India or much worse in Pakistan , it would have been a different story- we all know full well what that would have been like.
Just with his interview on 60 minutes- apparently the Channel wasn’t able 2 get the returns they were hoping for because it was on the same time as when Big Brother Final was on another channel as well.
ranajith
Aug 2nd, 2007 at 4:13 pm | #
You are a White Ass Kisser. Peace
Naresh
Aug 2nd, 2007 at 7:14 pm | #
Well said, Sakshi! You have made a relevant point when you said had it been in India, it wud have taken ages for Haneef to steer out of it, rather, I wud say v wudnt have wanted to correct ourselves later and hence, wudnt have made public certain facts and convicted him. We must infact apprecaite the swift and judicious work of Australian Police. Asking for an apology is demeaning ourselves as a society! In fact, even we must not hospitalise people like Haneef!
Sakshi
Aug 3rd, 2007 at 5:35 am | #
Ranajith : No all “White” ass, I prefer ONLY the Australian.
Gaurav
Aug 3rd, 2007 at 8:03 am | #
Well I don’t get this – Haneef felt insulted by the Australian government then why is he so desperate to go back, doesn’t he have any self-respect. Also if our own Police service is accusing him of having links with certain Terrorist groups then why should be expect the Australians to trust him and re-issue his visa.
usha
Aug 3rd, 2007 at 1:04 pm | #
point well made!
the percentages might have got something to do with the kind of sample surveyed.. even i’ve been wondering about what makes the ppl (i feel it’s more of a media induced perspective) glorify this man, who was being interrogated as a terror suspect?!
supremus
Aug 3rd, 2007 at 3:09 pm | #
I sincerely think this ass should be thrown back to Australians. Something about him doesnt convince me he’s innocent whatever he says. For once, I agree with Australians.
swamy
Aug 3rd, 2007 at 4:31 pm | #
Ok i think some of your are seriously missing the point there. Terrorism or no terrorism, the main case against the Australian govt is that Dr.Haneef was detained without charge for more than a week when actually no one in Australia was ever detained without being charged within 24 hours. Yes terrorism seemingly looks like a major threat (to us, its a constant ringing in the ears), but no matter what situtation a govt is facing it should never detain any human without even letting them know for what. There was a sim card linked to him, but you detain a man for so long based on a single sim card, there are numerous ways through which it could’ve made it to his brother. And if this was their only evidence against him why did they took a whole 3 weeks of interrogation for that.
@Gaurav and USHA
About Dr.Haneef going back to Australia, It is because he might like the countr, its economic opportunities and the fact that he has a well paying job there. The govt of Australia might be stupid enough to detain him but that doesnt mean the country (its people) are same as the govt. Please note the govt and the people can sometimes be very different entities. Do you think the disaster in Iraq is the resposibility of Bush or the american people he cheated?
Samir
Aug 4th, 2007 at 9:06 am | #
@ Swami
The 24 hours includes break time, he was not interviwed for more than 24 hours. You should read bharka duttas piece in SMH on the subject.
And no western leader is ever going to apologise, that would be an admission enough for a compensation claim or be enough to be sued.
Gaurav Varma
Aug 7th, 2007 at 9:07 am | #
Hello! Please do your research. Haneef was detained despite lack of any evidence. There are several glaring omissions. Anyone remotely familiar with the legal system will attest to this.
The Aussie cops had informed the court that his sim-card was found on the suicide bomber in Glasgow. That was a blatant lie. Entries were made in his diary by the Aussie cops. This was widely reported even in the Aussie media. Its irrelevant what Indian cops would have done. It does not absolve the Aussie cops from what they did.
I don’t know whether you or the people who have commented really know the details.
Swamy makes important points yet I do not see any response from the author.
And the Shilpa Shetty analogy was downright ugly. I fail to see how you could link up something as ludicrous as that with Haneef’s case. I’m not sure how many people will appreciate that analogy. Probably you should ask thousands of young Muslims who go abroad in their quest for a better life what this has done for them…
Read this : The Age
Saakshi O. Juneja
Aug 7th, 2007 at 9:41 am | #
Gaurav Varma : Firstly thank you for your comment and your email. However I would like to emphasis that just like you, I have a right to form my own opinions. Clearly you do not agree with my line of thoughts and so you have stated.
Just like you, I have also come to the above written conclusion by going thru various media coverage both the Indian and Australian, plus add to this my own experience of living in Sydney for many years. As mentioned earlier too, as a government (which is meant to look after its citizens) the Australians have taken the correct steps. It often said, “It’s better to be safe than sorry”….since the case against Haneef has yet not come to a conclusion, if the Australians think it to be better that he stays out of Australia then it’s their choice. “We” as outsiders have no right to judge their policies or decisions, let alone ask them for apologies.
For what you have mentioned above, most of it has already been answered by other commentators here…so really makes no sense if I argue on the same. But I stand by opinion on Mr. Haneef and his so-called “victimized” situation.
Gaurav Varma
Aug 7th, 2007 at 10:25 am | #
Yes your right to form your opinions is not in question here. I fully understand that this being YOUR blog you have every right to voice your world view as you see it.
The Australian Government is free to do what it deems fit in order to protect its citizens. What the Govt is not free to do is to blatantly distort facts before a court of law however lofty the ’cause’ it claims to uphold.The justification you use that Indian authorities would have treated him worse is meaningless in this context. You are probably right. But should that be our benchmark for treatment meted out to innocent individuals taken into custody?
I still don’t think the underlying issues have been adequately addressed.
Being a regular reader of this blog I was disappointed with the article. Thats all. And thanks for the prompt response!
Annoyed
Aug 9th, 2007 at 5:01 pm | #
Tum log assume kar kar ke desh ke lete rahte ho, India me pakda jaata and yeh ho jaat and woh ho jaata – Australia is awesome and what not
Freaking get the pork out to Australia then please!
Whats your point about getting butt load of money through documentaries and what not so he should be thankful – r u insane? What basically you are saying is you have no pride what so ever and will do anything if you are monetarily compensated.
WOW!
Grow some spine in your back