Wednesday 29th July 2015

MEDIA RELEASENATIONALGPO BOX 573, GOODWOOD SA 5034Phone: (08) 7070 6070 Fax: (08) 7070 6050sadems711@internode.on.net

JEANIE WALKERNATIONAL ASYLUM SEEKER SPOKESPERSON

Manus Island set to explode say Australian Democrats

Tensions on Manus Island have reached a new high and the Australian Government must act immediately before more violence erupts says the Australian Democrats National Spokesperson for Asylum Seekers, Jeanie Walker.

"With widespread violence being reported against asylum seekers and refugees, both inside and outside the Manus Island Detention Centre, the Australian Government has a duty of care to protect the world's most vulnerable" says Ms. Walker. "This is impossible in PNG and offshore processing facilities''.

Now the violence has spread to the detention centre guards with tragic consequences.

"In the early hours of Saturday morning I was advised by a reliable source of both a homicide and a serious assault, both involving detention centre guards in the PNG community. [footnoteRef:1] [1: MANUS DETENTION CENTRE WORKER MURDERED Lisa Martin AAP via Herald Sun 27 July 2015http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/worker-murdered-at-manus-detention-centre/story-fni0xqi4-1227458540564]

First a guard was murdered and his body found in a waterway in Ward 1around 11pm.

Then an assault occurred near the refugee transit centre gates where a woman and a man were attacked, resulting in the man having his hand cut off with a machete only 3 hours later.

This is no place to either house or resettle genuine refugees and Australia can no longer pretend that this is an option.

Not only is it unsafe for refugees but the pressure on the local community caused by friction between locals and guards is now at boiling point.

With allegations of a gang rape perpetrated on a local PNG woman by Australian Wilson Security guard hired to watch over asylum seekers in the Manus Island Detention Centre, there is bound to be more unrest in an already volatile country.

The alleged suspects in the sexual assault are believed to have fled back to Australia.

There has been a steady stream of stories of beatings and mistreatment of asylum seekers within the Manus Island Detention Centre as more people become aware of what Australia is actually doing in these offshore detention centres.

These incidents are also becoming more extreme and seemingly more prevalent.

With detainees now being used as witnesses in court cases which challenge the legality of detaining people with no crime in a foreign country, the asylum seekers are facing a new round of threats and violent retaliation.

I have been provided with evidence of a complaint made to Transfield who run the Manus Island facility, by an asylum seeker who found a hand written death threat in his bed inside the heavily guarded centre.

Ms Walker who was provided with a photograph of the death threat with the man's full name and Boat ID, a number of weeks ago, immediately wrote to the Australian Minister of Immigration Peter Dutton with her concerns.

She writes on the 2nd July 2015: "There is an asylum seeker on Manus Island who has received a written death threat in his room in Manus Island Detention Centre if he testifies in the PNG court case.I don't need to tell you how disturbing it is that someone has access to his room.I have been instructed by the lawyers for the detainees to bring this immediately to the Ministers attention.There is no witness protection in PNG so this is a request that the detainees need to be brought to Australia for safety.The note says that it doesn't matter if they are in the detention centre or outside, they will kill him and that PNG ''doesn't want asylum seekers''.Please treat this request with great urgency and in a way that will not put these men at further risk.He has been told by security at the detention centre that they can do nothing to protect him."The Minister did not respond.Ms Walker has now received copies of another complaint made to Transfield Services only last week where it is alleged that a guard entered a room and turned off his radio in front of witnesses then challenged an asylum seeker to ''a duel'' anddisplayed a knife. The witnesses called for help and another guard came and removed the guard from the room."What on earth is going on inside these Australian run detention centre's?'' says Ms Walker. "No sane government can possibly allow this to continue.It is time for the government to bring these men to an Australian facility for processing as the Abbott government has completely lost control of what is happening on Manus.Guards murdered, detainees allegedly beaten and threatened by staff, severe mental health issues from 2 years of incarceration for daring to ask Australia for help. Where will it end?If the government has 'stopped the boats' as it keeps claiming, then why are we continuing to pump billions of wasted tax-payer dollars into less than a thousand despairing men on an island in crisis?If the government has really stopped the boats then I challenge them to do the right thing, the humane thing and stop punishing these individuals whose only crime is to arrive in Australia after Tony Abbott came into power, and be used as political pawns in a game that no one can ever win', concluded Ms Walker.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jeanie Walker 0427 076 336

See also our campaign to save Mohammad Albederee on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-Mohammad-Albederee/377552889121059

ATTACHED Photos

Figure 1: Blood stains on the ground from the Machete attack just outside the Manus Island Transit Centre

Figure 2: Location of the waterway in Ward 1 Lorengau, where a Guard's body was found, just 9 kms from the Manus Island Detention Centre. (Picture of waterway on the next page.)

Figure 3: Facilities at the Lorengau Hospital

Figure 4: The victim of the machete attack in Lorengau Hospital.

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