UN probes Australia's detention system
- From: "Muslim-News" <editor_@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <submit@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 30 May 2002 10:14:37 +0100
SYDNEY: A United Nations team began investigating Australia's system of
mandatory detention of illegal immigrants Tuesday at one of the
country's most notorious centres. Protesters outside the remote south
Australian Woomera Detention Centre warned the UN officials not to be
fooled by the centre's improved appearance. And they claimed asylum
seekers were on a hunger strike.
Refugee activist Matthew Hamon, who visited the centre Tuesday, said
trees had been planted and the dormitories repainted before the UN
visit. "Whatever the UN saw today, it's not really an accurate
representation of what the detention centre has been like for the past
two or three years," Hamon said.
"I'm told by detainees that flowers were given to them to plant, there
was painting done and the razor wire was actually removed from certain
areas to make it look less formidable," he added. Ross Parry, who mans a
refugee protest camp outside the centre, said the detainees had told him
they were on hunger strike. "They've been in there for months, some of
them have been in there for years and they are very desperate people,"
he added.
A spokesman for Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock denied there was a
hunger strike. "Nobody at the management centre knows about it and
people are still turning up for meals," he said. However, he did agree
maintenance work had improved the centre. "This includes repairing
substantial damage caused by detainees on a number of occasions at
Woomera and other centres," he said. "Any work undertaken was simply
part of this process and not a reaction to the UN visit."
Source: Jang
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