For Human Rights, Let them free

2001.05

The Greek cargo vessel, M/V Amorgos, was grounded off the coast of southern Taiwan, on Jan 14, 2001. The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) of the Executive Yuan sent a letter to the Hualien Harbor Bureau (HLHB) requesting that they restrain the Master of ship Evangelos Lazaridis, Chief Engineer Vasileios Sardis, and other crewmembers from leaving Taiwan. The HLHB then sent a letter of request to the Immigration Bureau of the Interior Ministry (IBIM) to do the same. So far, they have been restrained in Taiwan for more than 4 months. To protect their human rights, we request that the Taiwan administrative authorities immediately lift the restraining order preventing the crewmembers from leaving. Our reasons are as follows:

1. The general principles of modern legal systems place great value on respect for the individual. It is against the law for a creditor to restrain the liberty of the debtor in order to force payment. The Taiwan administrative authorities are clearly violating the law, since the purpose of this restraint is to pressure the M/V Amorgos ship owner to deal with the oil pollution and fulfill the duty of compensation. (This is the case according to information released on the EPA website, and in an EPA letter dated May 4). Negotiations between the EPA, the ship owner, and its insurance company involve a huge sum in compensation and security. As employees, the Master and Chief Engineer carry no weight in this dispute and should therefore be let free.

2. The restraining order on the Master and Chief Engineer was not issued by the judicial authorities, but by careless administrative authorities. It was only in April, and only after an investigation by the crewmembers' attorney, that it was made known that the basis for the restraining order was the Ocean Pollution Control Act, Article 35. This article states that the crewmembers may leave the country if they provide security. However, the meaning of the "security" required was never made clear to the crew members. The EPA and IBIM not only restrained foreign nationals from leaving Taiwan without notifying them of the reason, but also refused to tell them how the problem could be solved.

3. Being restrained in Taiwan, the Greek Master and Chief Engineer have been kept away from their homes, families and friends. They have become strangers, deprived of the right to work and engage in social activities.

4. Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: "Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person." Article 13.2 states: "Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country." The Taiwan Constitution also enshrines essentially the same right. Article 10 states: "The people shall have freedom of residence and of change in residence." The Taiwan Government claims that Taiwan is founded on the basis of human rights, and declares that it will be a human rights exporter. Thus we should respect the fundamental human rights of all foreign nationals.

We believe that restraining these crewmembers and preventing them from leaving Taiwan, in order to put pressure on the ship owner for compensation, is in violation of the human rights of the crew. We hereby invite all organizations and individuals from both inside and outside Taiwan to sign their names on this statement in order to show their support for the Master and Chief Engineer of M/V Amorgos. We jointly require that the Taiwan administrative authorities immediately lift the restraining order preventing the Master and Chief Engineer from leaving. This uncivilized restraint and infringement of human rights must end immediately.

Statement by Taiwan Association for Human Rights (TAHR)

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Taiwan Association for Human Rights
TEL: 886-2-23639787 FAX:886-2-23636102
E-mail: tahr@seed.net.tw URL: http://tahr.yam.org.tw