Dutch boat 'Women on Waves' in Mexico to offer women legal terminations

A Dutch sailing boat offering legal abortions has taken up a position off the west coast of Mexico. It is offering free, legal medical terminations for the victims of sexual violence.

Deutsche Welle, 23 April 2017

The Women on Waves boat arrived off the coast of Guerrero state last week on the invitation of more than 40 women's organizations who are campaigning for abortion to be legalized throughout the country.

On Thursday the ship sailed out to international waters where two women received safe, medical abortions. The women were given abortion pills and remained under observation for several hours before returning to shore. The female crew does not perform surgical abortions.

#MujeresEnLasOlas en #Guerrero!! Linea Aborto 755 9800548
#HagamosOlas
#WomenOnWaves pic.twitter.com/ep6iGFPsCQ

— Women on Waves (@WomenOnWaves_) April 22, 2017

Speaking in Ixtapa on Friday, President of the Women on Waves group, Rebecca Gomperts said access to safe abortions was a matter of "social justice" in Latin America.

Abortion has been legal in the capital of Mexico for the last ten years. "It's absurd that according to geography, where women live in Mexico determines ... if they can access a legal and safe abortion," said Regina Tames, head of Information Group on Reproductive Choice (GIRE), a Mexican women's rights group.

"Access to abortion in cases of rape is really quite limited," Tames said.

The Women on Waves boat was cleared by Mexican authorities to stay offshore, registered as a private vessel. During the boat's last voyage to Guatemala it was detained by the army and expelled. It was unable to carry out any terminations at that time.

The ship has previously been to Ireland, Morocco, Poland, Portugal and Spain.

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Guatemala expels Dutch 'abortion ship'

Yahoo – AFP, February 26, 2017

Members of the Dutch organization Women on Waves can be seen on the group's
 "abortion ship" as it visits the Pez Vela Marina in the port of San Jose, Escuintla
department, 120 km south of Guatemala City, on February 23, 2017 (AFP Photo/
JOHAN ORDONEZ)

Guatemala City (AFP) - Guatemala has expelled a Dutch "abortion ship" carrying activists who had vowed to help women circumvent the country's longstanding prohibition against terminating pregnancies, the army said Sunday.

Activists from the group Women on Waves had been guarded aboard their moored sailboat by a navy vessel, Saul Tobar, commander of Puerto Quetzal on Guatemala's Pacific coast, told reporters.

"Notified of its expulsion from the country's territorial waters for having failed to comply with immigration regulations" late Saturday, the crew requested permission to set sail, he said. The activists saw no patients.

The immigration authorities ordered the expulsion on Friday, saying the group's members lied in their entry declaration papers, claiming to be tourists and not members of a "health organization" that aimed to perform abortions.

Abortion is allowed in Guatemala only in cases in which a mother's life is deemed in danger.

The sailboat Adelaide arrived at the southern port of San Jose on Tuesday carrying 10 activists from Guatemala, as well as from Brazil, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain.

They had planned to offer abortions in international waters off Guatemala's coast over five days, picking up five women at a time by dinghy.

Abortions were to be induced with two pills. Counseling, treatment and aftercare were also to be available for women seeking the group's services.

However, following the Dutch-registered boat's arrival, President Jimmy Morales ordered the government to file a formal complaint with the prosecutor's office.

(L-R) Merrilee Evans, Daniel Evans and Alice Ottz, members of the Dutch 

organization Women on Waves, speak with a private guard at the Pez Vela 

Marina in the port of San Jose, Escuintla department, 120 km south of 

Guatemala City, on February 23, 2017 (AFP Photo/JOHAN ORDONEZ)

Port officials ordered the activists to stay on board their ship, saying they had not declared the motive of their trip and therefore could not go ashore.

Stopping, unsafe illegal abortions

Women on Waves says some 65,000 illegal and unsafe abortions take place in the Central American country every year.

Although the group would use all available legal means to carry out its campaign, it would also respect Guatemalan law, spokeswoman Leticia Zenevich said.

Women on Waves had previously said its sailing ship was illegally "detained" by the military, which it accused of "obstructing a lawful protest against the state's restrictions on the Guatemalan women's right to safe abortion."

Its arrival had prompted protests by conservative as well as religious groups.

"It's very offensive that this group comes here to practice abortion, which is ultimately to practice murder," said Gonzalo de Villa, president of Guatemala's Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Guatemala Evangelical Alliance president Cesar Vasquez, called the NGO's activities "crimes against humanity."

However, some feminist groups supported the campaign.

Set up in 1999, Women on Waves has generated controversy in the past.

It sent the boat to Ireland, Poland, Portugal and Spain in previous years, prompting protests by pro-life groups in each country.

The group had urged the Guatemalan government to "remove abortion from the penal code," saying it is "a regular medical procedure and a human right," and calling for access to contraceptives and free, safe abortions.

Australian Sailors’ Trauma Pulling Dead Asylum Seekers From Sea

Jakarta Globe – AFP, Dec 03, 2014

In this photograph taken on Feb. 8, 2014 an empty Australian lifeboat that carried
 asylum seekers turned back by Australian navy is docked at Pangandaran wharf
in West Java. (AFP Photo/Timur Matahari)

Sydney. Serving and former Australian navy personnel have described the trauma of stopping asylum seeker boats and pulling dead bodies from the water as the government ramps up its deterrence policy on migrants arriving by sea.

The sailors, some of whom have been discharged suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), told ABC television on Tuesday their health conditions were not treated seriously by commanders.

The men and women said the distress they suffered during the naval operations, which took place when the Labor party was in power from late 2006 to September 2013, was exacerbated by secrecy surrounding the country’s border protection policies.

A serving navy officer, who was given the name “Michael” to protect his identity, told ABC how his ship was delayed by 15 hours from boarding an asylum-seeker boat, only to find out that it had sunk 13 hours earlier.

“All we found was probably a line about 70 miles long of bodies,” he told the national broadcaster. “We fished them out for as long as we could, ’til we were full. And that wasn’t uncommon.”

Their insights came as Immigration Minister Scott Morrison sought to gain support Wednesday from the Senate for a bill widening the government’s maritime powers.

The bill reflects the hardening attitudes Australian governments have taken against asylum seekers attempting to enter the country by boat.

Only one boat has reached the Australian mainland since December, compared to almost daily arrivals previously under the Labor administration, when hundreds of people died en route.

Troy Norris, a sailor recently discharged for PTSD, spent 13 years intercepting and boarding asylum seeker boats and said his commanding officer “showed no compassion at all for my situation” when reading his termination letter.

“And that’s the kind a treatment I received. Getting rushed through because we were a liability.”

In a statement Wednesday, Australia’s chief of navy Vice Admiral Tim Barrett acknowledged the “arduous” nature of border protection work and said a tailored mental health support program had been set up for those involved.

“This program includes regular screening and follow-up mental health support where required,” Barrett said. “I believe it is a first-class system that is part of a broader approach to mental health across the Australian Defense Force.”

As part of the current conservative government’s tough policies, several asylum seeker boats approaching Australian waters have been turned back in a move it said would stop people from dying at sea while undertaking the treacherous journey.

The most recent case involved a people-smuggling boat carrying 38 Sri Lankans that was stopped northwest of the Cocos Islands two weeks ago as it made its way to Australia.

Agence France-Presse

Major Drug Bust at Jakarta Port

Jakarta Globe, Zaky Pawas | April 15, 2011

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Indonesian Customs officers intercepted more than $4 million worth of crystal methamphetamine at Tanjung Priok port in North Jakarta on Friday.

Martediansyah, who heads the customs and excise division at Tanjung Priok, said 17.9 kilograms of the drug was found stashed inside sofas.

“The shipment was from Iran,” he said. “It is worth Rp 36 billion on the market.”

Three suspects, including one Iranian, have been taken into custody by Jakarta Police.

JG

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Int’l medical team provides free services

M. Azis Tunny, The Jakarta Post, Ambon | Sat, 07/31/2010 11:48 AM

Medical teams from various countries collaborated in the 2010 Pacific Partnership Mission to provide free medical services to thousands of coastal residents in Maluku.

The humanitarian mission was carried out for three days from July 27 in a number of locations in the region. It was part of the Sail Banda event, which will be attended by President Susilo Bambang Yudho-yono on Aug. 3.

More than 17,000 people received health services, said Pacific Partnership Mission Commander Capt. Lisa M. Franchetti. Around 105 doctors were involved in the mission, consisting of 40 doctors manning onshore health posts and 65 doctors aboard the USNS Mercy hospital ship.

“Medical examinations and treatment are conducted at the health posts on land as well as aboard the USNS Mercy,” Franchetti told The Jakarta Post at a health post in Pelauw village, Haruku Island, on Thursday.

More than 10 health posts have been set up on Seram, Ambon and Haruku islands to support the

program. To reach posts outside Ambon city, medical teams and logistics were airlifted by two helicopters on stand-by aboard the USNS Mercy.

“The most common sickness is sore eyes. More than 500 patients come each day to have their eyes treated. Besides medicine, we also provide eyeglasses. Many of the residents also complain about internal illnesses and a number of common ailments,” Franchetti said.

Ailments requiring surgery on board the USNS Mercy include kidney problems, prostate cancer, hernia and cleft palate, Franchetti said.

Members of the medical team on board the USNS Mercy are able to perform between 150 and 200 surgeries daily, while the on-land health posts provide medical treatment for common ailments, such as sore eyes, toothaches, internal diseases and skin ailments.

The medical workers mark the patients with colored wrist bands according to their ailments, such as red for sore eyes, purple for toothaches and yellow for common

illnesses.

Data on patients and their ailments are recorded on computers using the Civil Humanitarian Information Management Expeditionary System (CHIMES).

“We will give this data to the Maluku governor after our mission in Maluku is over, and we will also submit it to the Health Ministry,” Franchetti said.

Besides the presence of the USNS Mercy from the US, a number of countries have also dispatched hospital ships. Singapore deployed its RSS Endevour, while Australia contributed the services of two heavy landing craft (HLC) — HMAS Labuan (L128) and HMAS Tarakan (L129).

Other countries taking part in the program include Canada, Cambodia, New Zealand, the UK and Indonesia. As many as 17 international relief organizations also took part in the mission by sending activists and relief aid.

KRI Soeharso to conduct Humanitarian mission in Maluku

Antara News, Saturday, July 3, 2010 16:55 WIB

KRI dr Soeharso 990 - kapal rumah sakit milik TNI-AL (photo : Marinir)

Surabaya, E Java (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Navy floating hospital KRI dr. Soeharso-990 will conduct a humanitarian mission in Ambon, Maluku for about six weeks.

Chief of Navy Eastern Fleet Command for public information Major Kariono said here on Saturday that the war ship turned floating hospital would take part in Surya Baskara Jaya health operation service in Maluku as part of Sail Banda 2010 civic mission.

"The Surya Baskara Jaya health service activity at Maluku waters is part of international marine event of Sail Banda 2010," Kariono said.

He said the navy personnel on board KRI Soeharso who join the Surya Baskara Jaya operation would give free health services such as a general treatment, dental treatment, minor and major surgeries, and other medical treatments for the people of coastal and remote areas in Maluku.

"It is the realization of the attention form the Navy and the country to the people at coastal and remote areas who have so far found it difficult to get adequate health services," Kariono said.

KRI dr. Soeharso-990 is a ship with facility equal to B Class Hospital which is completed by Emergency Installation, polyclinic, surgery room, ICU, and treatment room.

This KRI is also used to support program in remote areas, coasts, islands, and the border (DTPK) cooperating with other related ministries.

KRI dr. Soeharso-990 will join Singapore` Navy floating hospital RSS Endeavor and US Navy floating hospital USNS Mercy T-AH 19 to Sail Banda civic mission in Maluku.

On Saturday, July 3, KRI Suharso and USNS Mercy will sail to Buru Island in Central Maluku district and then to Ambon and several other target areas," Wiranto said.

A number of scout personnel, students, youths, medical personnel and paramedics on board the three floating hospitals would give medical and social services to the people living in coastal areas in small islands in the provinces of Maluku and North Maluku.