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Papua New Guinea to begin forceable removal of asylum seekers from detention centre

webfact

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webfact Grand Master Member

webfact

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Papua New Guinea to begin forceable removal of asylum seekers from detention centre

By Colin Packham

 

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Workers dismantle structures in Lombrum detention camp on Manus island, Papua New Guinea, November 13, 2017. Behrouz Bouchani/Social Media/via REUTERS

 

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Papua New Guinea Immigration Minister Petrus Thomas said authorities would take steps on Monday to forcibly remove around 450 men who remain in an abandoned Australian detention centre without food or running water.

 

Hundreds of men have barricaded themselves into the Manus Island centre for more than 13 days without regular food or water supplies, defying attempts by Australia and Papua New Guinea to close the facility.

 

"We will be taking steps with relevant authorities to move the residents based on serious exposure to health risk for the food of everyone that is remaining," Thomas said in a statement issued late on Sunday.

 

The timetable stokes fears of a potential clash between authorities and asylum seekers - drawn largely from Afghanistan, Iran, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Syria - who have refused to move to three transit centres. The United Nations has warned of a "looming humanitarian crisis."

 

The standoff has cast Australia's immigration policies into the international spotlight, triggering a rare rebuke from New Zealand, Canberra's closest international ally.

 

Australia has used the centre, and a camp on the tiny Pacific island of Nauru, to detain asylum seekers who try to reach its shores by boat. It says boat arrivals will never enter Australia, even if found to be refugees, as that would encourage people smugglers in Asia.

 

The asylum seekers on Manus fear reprisals if they move to the transit centres, pending possible resettlement in the United States. The main camp was closed on Oct. 31 and water and power have been cut off.

 

Australia and Papua New Guinea both insist the transit centres are safe, offering the asylum seekers the same level of care they had received before the closure of the Manus Island camp.

 

Papua New Guinea last week removed the fences of the camp, while authorities also dismantled rainwater collection bins and makeshift shelters built to ward off the tropical sun and rain, intensifying pressure on the detainees.

 

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she would seek a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Vietnam with her Australian counterpart, Malcolm Turnbull, to discuss the situation.

 

"No matter what label you put on it, there is absolute need and there is harm being done," Arden told reporters.

 

Turnbull earlier this month rejected an offer from New Zealand to resettle 150 asylum seekers as it prioritised an existing refugee swap deal he negotiated with former U.S. President Barack Obama last year.

 

Under that deal, up to 1,250 asylum seekers could be sent to the United States and Australia will in turn accept refugees from Central America.

 

(Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Jane Wardell and Peter Cooney)

 
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-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-11-13

 

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rosst Advanced Member

rosst

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2 hours ago, halloween said:

Quite disparate, the only thing in common is that Australians don't want them in our country.

You have got that right, the one thing our Government is doing and has done for some time despite the usual looney left and their touchy feely greeny mates. 

Send the buggers back home if they don't like it, free trips are provided but NOT TO AUSTRALIA as this rewards the people smugglers. 

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boomerangutang Platinum Member

boomerangutang

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2 hours ago, rosst said:

You have got that right, the one thing our Government is doing and has done for some time despite the usual looney left and their touchy feely greeny mates. 

Send the buggers back home if they don't like it, free trips are provided but NOT TO AUSTRALIA as this rewards the people smugglers. 

You'd probably call me "looney left and their touchy feely greeny" (I'm a Green Party member in California), ....but I mostly agree with sending them back.  Some exceptions:  If they face serious danger for returning.  Also, if they look to be useful workers/specialists and don't have history of crime.

 

As for 'sending outsiders back.'  Perhaps the natives should have had that policy from the time the first white folks showed up.  

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webfact Grand Master Member

webfact

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Australia should accept New Zealand offer to resettle detained refugees - UNHCR

By Colin Packham

 

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An undated image released November 13, 2017 shows detainees staging a protest inside the compound at the Manus Island detention centre in Papua New Guinea. Refugee Action Coalition/Handout via REUTERS

 

SYDNEY (Reuters) - The United Nations refugee agency on Tuesday urged Australia to accept New Zealand's offer to resettle 150 refugees from an abandoned Australian-run detention centre in Papua New Guinea, as about 450 men remain barricaded inside without food or water.

 

The asylum seekers have been holed up inside the centre for the past two weeks defying attempts by Australia and Papua New Guinea to close the facility, saying they fear for their safety if moved to transit centres.

 

With many detainees complaining of illness bought about by the unsanitary conditions inside the camp, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) urged Australia to allow 150 of them to resettle in New Zealand.

 

"We urge Australia to reconsider this and take up the offer," Nai Jit Lam, deputy regional representative at the UNHCR told Reuters. The asylum seekers are mainly from Afghanistan, Iran, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Syria.

 

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull earlier this month rejected a refugee resettlement offer from his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern, preferring instead to work through an existing refugee swap deal he negotiated with former U.S. President Barack Obama last year.

 

Under that deal, up to 1,250 asylum seekers detained by Australia in Papua New Guinea and Nauru in the South Pacific could be resettled in the United States in return for Australia accepting refugees from Central America. So far, the United States has accepted only 54.

 

Despite Turnbull rejecting the offer, Ardern this week said the offer remained on the table and that she would seek a second meeting with Turnbull to discuss the "unacceptable" situation inside the Manus island detention centre.

 

Running water and electricity to the Manus island detention centre were disconnected two weeks ago after Australian security withdrew and the camp closed on Oct. 31. The centre had been declared illegal by a Papua New Guinea Court.

 

Papua New Guinea has threatened to forcibly move the men if they remain inside the centre. It has set three deadlines but all have passed largely without incident.

 

Australia's "Sovereign Borders" immigration policy, under which it refuses to allow asylum seekers arriving by boat to reach its shores, has been heavily criticised by the United Nations and human rights groups but has bipartisan political support in Australia.

 

Australia says allowing asylum seekers arriving by boat to reach its shores would only encourage people smugglers in Asia and see more people risk their lives trying to sail to Australia.

 

(Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Michael Perry)

 
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-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-11-14
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moojar Advanced Member

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The sticking point with these "refugees" is, they cross many countries to get to us.  And love their govt handouts / welfare when they get here.  

 

Common refugee route was fly to Malaysia - yes, fly - then overland / ferry etc. to Indonesia.  People smugglers had a thriving business sending them in leaky boats from Indonesia to Australia's nearest territory.

 

Our govt is being cruel to this batch, but the pipeline has dried up.  It's about sending a message.  

 

We take our fair share of refugees, taken from UN refugee camps.  These interlopers were taking the places of legitimate refugees.  And it's nearly always all men - who then send for their extended family once accepted.    

Edited by moojar
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Blackheart1916 Apprentice Member

Blackheart1916

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6 hours ago, boomerangutang said:

You'd probably call me "looney left and their touchy feely greeny" (I'm a Green Party member in California), ....but I mostly agree with sending them back.  Some exceptions:  If they face serious danger for returning.  Also, if they look to be useful workers/specialists and don't have history of crime.

 

As for 'sending outsiders back.'  Perhaps the natives should have had that policy from the time the first white folks showed up.  

Any that are found to be genuine refugees are given asylum and settled in Australia, in addition to the usual immigrant intake (around 180000 pa I think) and the one off intake of 12500 from Syria last year, so these people have been found to have no legitimate claim. They have also transited through several other safe countries first. As for sending outsiders back, well that's been a game of strength since the dawn of man, I assume you are a Native American? 

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fabphil Advanced Member

fabphil

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6 hours ago, boomerangutang said:

Why would Australia gov't not accept the NZ offer?   Pride?

 

Because they would use NZ as a back door entry into oz and we have enough of these money suckers here

 

Edited by fabphil
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Trouble Advanced Member

Trouble

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Question is why would New Zealand offer to take them.? Foolish woman.  And the Sri Lankans and Pakistanis are fleeing from what? If admitted make sure they can't send for the extended family.  No economic handouts/benefits, no wife and no kids allowed and that might change their minds about coming.  Most of these people I see as fleeing for economic reasons.  Nothing wrong with that but not a good reason to take them in.  

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jacko45k Star Member

jacko45k

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21 hours ago, boomerangutang said:

.

 

As for 'sending outsiders back.'  Perhaps the natives should have had that policy from the time the first white folks showed up.  

I realise your comment was tongue in cheek, but like the American Indians, they did not have the means to do so.

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Stargeezr Platinum Member

Stargeezr

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NZ and Australia are near by and nice quality countries for these Economic refugee people to try

and get to illegally. Papau New Guinea should be given support to house and feed these people until a ship

can return them to their home countries. No sympathy for these people.

Geezer

Edited by Stargrazer9889
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