Vol. 81/No. 44 November 27, 2017
Rallies oppose Canberra’s treatment of refugees
Chanting “Bring them here! Let them stay!” the crowd marched through the streets gathering strength as many young people joined, some taking part in their first protest.
The two parties that have run the Australian government — the Liberal and Labor parties — have presided over a brutal policy of stopping people seeking to sail to refuge here, seizing their boats and incarcerating them in “processing centers” on nearby islands like Papua New Guinea — a former colony.
The Manus Island detention center was closed by the PNG government Oct. 31. Without water, electricity, food or medical care the 580 men held there have refused to leave. The Australian government claims alternative housing is ready, but media photographs and reports exposed that it was still under construction and uninhabitable.
“They are staying in the compound because outside is a mobile PNG police squad which has been responsible for bashings in the camp before,” Nicole Judge, a former support worker on Manus Island, told the protesters.
“We are here today to make it clear that there is a growing mood against the actions of the governments of Australia and PNG,” said Ian Rintoul, a leader of the Refugee Action Coalition. He described how local people on Manus have come to the decommissioned center bringing food to pass to refugees.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull negotiated a deal with the Barack Obama administration in 2016 for Washington to take some of the refugees, but so far only 54 have been resettled in the U.S. Before anyone is admitted, Washington insists they must pass a vigorous vetting process.
Turnbull refused an offer by the New Zealand government to resettle 150 refugees there. Australian authorities said it would just “put sugar on the table” and “encourage people smugglers.”
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