Bloody Protest at Australian Refugee Detention Centre - Authorities are Quiet
Syed Atiq ul Hassan,
Correspondent from Sydney Australia
3rd September, 2002.
CAPTION: Refugee injured at Curtin Detention Centre in Western Australia on 2nd September, '02.
Sydney: (Monday, 2nd of September): One person was bleeding from the head and the others were falling unconscious as
shown by the ABC television (Australia) last night.
Curtin detention centre, in Australia's remote north-west, was the scene of riots at the weekend, and the authorities
are still trying to calm the situation down. As the press and media people don’t have access to cover the inside
situation, the real reasons for detainees being injured are not clear. Australia's ABC television showed dramatic shots
of a protest at the same centre last June with the comments of the Prime Minister Howard on the incident.
Prime Minister John Howard has said that he is satisfied that immigrants at the detention centre are being treated
humanely. He said the graphic images being shown on television are not telling the true story. The video shows asylum
seekers smashing their heads against the walls of cells, one person falling unconscious and the face of another person
was covered in blood.
It is to be noted that Australia has come under immense fire from the UN and international human rights groups for its
policy of detaining all illegal immigrants while their asylum claims are processed. There have been several riots at
various camps in Australia, by detainees protesting at the length of time their applications have taken. Some immigrants
can wait more than three years for a decision.
CAPTION: Curtin Detention Centre in Western Australia after rioting
At the Curtin camp, the authorities were searching for weapons and cleaning up after the latest protests. Most of the
rioters have surrendered, handing in weapons ranging from knives and meat cleavers to lumps of concrete and a cricket
bat.
The government authorities are also claiming that the riot ringleaders were also involved in the mass escape from the
Woomera camp in South Australia last month, before being transferred to Curtin.
According to the new system approved on Monday, a committee of 10 independent experts will be able to make visits
without prior notice as part of an international convention from United Nations.
ENDS