The Australian Democrats have called for an independent investigation into all the details surrounding the Australian Governments imprisonment, persecution and deportation of the Bakhtiari family, following the publication of comprehensive new evidence showing the family are Afghanis as they always claimed.
Democrats Deputy Leader, Senator Andrew Bartlett, said research done by journalist Paul McGeogh, published in todays Sydney Morning Herald, suggests deliberate deceit and duplicity on the part of the Australian government.
"The time for ducking and weaving is over," Senator Bartlett said.
"The Identity Checking Unit (IDCU) in Afghanistan exists specifically for the purpose of clarifying the identity and nationality of people where there were doubts about whether they were Pakistani or Afghani. I asked questions about this Unit in Senate Estimates hearings two years ago which clearly established that the IDCU was established and funded by the Australian government."
"For a DIMIA official to now tell a journalist that reports done by the IDCU are internal Afghan documents and are not provided to the Australian Government simply beggars belief," Senator Bartlett said.
"One of the biggest features of the widely acknowledged cultural problems in DIMIA was a refusal to admit mistakes.
"This incident is a big challenge for the new head of DIMIA, Andrew Metcalfe, and the Minister as to whether they are genuine in changing the culture of DIMIA, or whether the Department will still be hamstrung by endemic dishonesty that characterises this Government."
"The only way to get to the bottom of this is an independent investigation which can look at all of the documents and all of the evidence," Senator Bartlett concluded.
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