A protest by asylum
seekers at an Australian offshore detention centre has entered its
seventh day, with hundreds reportedly on a hunger strike.
Detainees at one compound on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea
(PNG) have locked staff out, according to Australian media reports.
Australia has accused the detainees of aggressive and disruptive behaviour.
The policy of detaining asylum seekers offshore - intended as a deterrent - has been criticised by rights groups.
Australia sends all asylum seekers arriving by boat to
offshore camps in PNG and the Pacific territory of Nauru for detention
and processing.
The Manus Island centre was the scene of deadly riots last
February, when local residents entered the facility and clashed with
detainees. One asylum seeker was killed and at least 70 were hurt in the
violence.
Detainees in one part of the camp have barricaded themselves
inside their compound and can no longer take deliveries of food, reports
say.
The detainees are reportedly protesting against a PNG
government plan to move 50 of them, who have been deemed to be genuine
refugees, to Lorengau, the capital of Manus province.
The Manus Island centre is home to just over 1,000 asylum seekers
"They believe their lives are in danger," Ian Rintoul, a
spokesman for campaign group the Refugee Action Coalition (RAC), told
the BBC. "This is also upsetting other people [in the detention centre]
who fear the same will happen to them."
The detainees are said to be afraid that they will be
attacked by local people if they are moved to Lorengau. Mr Rintoul said
the refugees were so frightened of being resettled that they were
refusing to leave the centre, despite the troubles there.
He said there were no measures in place to help the asylum
seekers who were accepted as refugees to get employment, education or
accommodation in PNG.
Under laws brought in by the previous government, none of the
people held in offshore camps can expect to be resettled in Australia -
even if they are found to be genuine refugees.
'Irresponsible claims'
There were unconfirmed reports on Monday that drinking water
had been turned off in one of the compounds, the Australian Broadcasting
Corporation (ABC) reported. There were also unconfirmed reports that
PNG police would be brought in to quell the protests, it said.
In a letter seen by the ABC, asylum seekers said they wanted
their organs to be donated to Australians if they died inside the
centre. The Guardian meanwhile reported that four men at the centre had
been taken to a solitary confinement unit.
The government says its policies mean asylum seekers are no longer attempting dangerous sea crossings
Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said on Monday
that a number of detainees had been behaving aggressively since the
weekend.
"The failure of this group to cease their disturbing actions
is irresponsible - rather than protesting peacefully, they have chosen a
disruptive path," Mr Dutton said in a statement.
He said the detainees were not being denied food and water.
However, he said, the actions of some of the detainees had prevented the
delivery of food, water and medical services to others who were not
participating in the protest.
Mr Dutton said "false and irresponsible claims being
circulated by some advocates" were undermining the work of staff at the
centre. He added that Australia was working with the PNG authorities to
resolve the unrest.
The government says its tough policies are aimed at ending
the flow of boats carrying asylum seekers, so that no more people die
making the dangerous journey to Australia.
Only one such boat reached Australia during 2014, compared
with the 401 which successfully reached shore in 2013, according to
local media reports.
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