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Asylum seekers’ protest in Manus over: Australia Prime Minister

Tuesday, 20 January 2015 9:13 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 20 January 2015 9:13 AM ]

A refugee is seen walking between tents at Australia's regional processing center on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea, February 18, 2014. (© AFP)

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott says a protest by asylum seekers at an immigration detention center in Papua New Guinea (PNG)’s Manus Island has been brought to an end.

“There was a well-organized, well-coordinated protest in some parts of the Manus center. It amounted to a blockade,” Abbott told reporters on Tuesday.

“That blockade has now been broken,” he said.

On Monday, security staff backed by PNG police entered the compound where hunger-striking detainees had barricaded themselves in.

Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said a “degree of force” was used but said the situation “didn’t escalate to the point where the police had to present themselves and be in conflict with the people that are in the center.”

Dozens of asylum seekers were reportedly arrested and some were injured in the process.

However, a campaigner said hundreds of asylum seekers remain on hunger strike.

Reports from the center are hard to verify since the media are not allowed at the site.

Protests first began last week. Reports emerged on Sunday that some detainees had barricaded themselves into one compound.

Several asylum seekers have reportedly been harming themselves by sewing their lips together and swallowing razor blades during the protest action.

The protest began after detainees were told they would be transferred to a new center on the island. They say the new center makes them more vulnerable to deadly attacks by Manus Island locals.

Australia uses detention facilities in the PNG and the tiny island of Nauru to hold up the refugees who attempt to reach the country illegally.

Some 1,035 men are held on Manus Island, according to latest immigration figures, while 895 asylum seekers, including 596 men, 164 women and 135 children are held on Nauru.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has described Australia’s camps on Manus and Nauru as “harsh” facilities that “impact very profoundly on the men, women and children housed there.”

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