A standoff with asylum seekers in Australia has ended peacefully, with scores of Afghani men being returned to the refugee detention center they broke out of on Sept. 2.
More than 70 men escaped from the facility in Darwin, where they were being held while their refugee visa applications were being processed. Many entered the country illegally via boats.
The escape involved breaking through two electrified fences. They gathered on a busy highway, many holding bed sheets as signs, urging the Australian government to grant them refugee status.
The asylum seekers expressed anger at the delay in processing their applications. Some have been in detention up to nine months.
The police managed to negotiate an end to the seven-hour standoff, eventually returning all protesters to the detention facility.
Five of the group were taken to hospital—three for heat exhaustion, one with chest pains, and another with an existing foot injury, Australian media reported.
The men were mostly Shia Muslims, who have been targeted by the Taliban as a minority in Afghanistan.
The Afghani breakout comes just days after more than 100 Indonesians staged a riot in the same center. The group of men accused of people smuggling, climbed to the facility’s roof, damaging property in the process.
The men involved were mainly fisherman, who refugee advocates say are poor and were manipulated by the real culprits back in Indonesia.
Australia has set an annual quota for accepting refugees under the international resettlement programs at 10,000. However, the country detains migrants who enter Australia illegally until their asylum claims are processed.
The refugee issue has played a central role in Australia’s recent federal election. The country has seen a massive influx of asylum seekers in the last two years, many arriving illegally by boat from Asian countries like Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.
Since January 2010, more than 4,000 people have tried to make the dangerous journey to Australia by sea—an increase of 30 percent compared to 2009 figures.
This has caused overcrowding in detention centers, putting stress on the system, and on the speed of processing the claims.
The opposition Liberal government has blamed Labor’s lenient policies for the problems.
“What we are seeing up in Darwin is of great concern,” said opposition Immigration spokesperson Scott Morrison, reports ABC Australia. “This is a pressure-cooker situation.”
He says the opposition has sought a briefing on the incident, but the government has refused the request.
Australia is still hanging in limbo following an indecisive election on Aug. 23, where both major parties failed to win a majority of the votes.
With more than 80 percent of the votes counted, the Liberals appear to be ahead by 2,000 votes, but the balance of power hangs in the hands of four independent members. The final decision of whom they will give preference to may not be decided for another week.
More than 70 men escaped from the facility in Darwin, where they were being held while their refugee visa applications were being processed. Many entered the country illegally via boats.
The escape involved breaking through two electrified fences. They gathered on a busy highway, many holding bed sheets as signs, urging the Australian government to grant them refugee status.
The asylum seekers expressed anger at the delay in processing their applications. Some have been in detention up to nine months.
The police managed to negotiate an end to the seven-hour standoff, eventually returning all protesters to the detention facility.
Five of the group were taken to hospital—three for heat exhaustion, one with chest pains, and another with an existing foot injury, Australian media reported.
The men were mostly Shia Muslims, who have been targeted by the Taliban as a minority in Afghanistan.
The Afghani breakout comes just days after more than 100 Indonesians staged a riot in the same center. The group of men accused of people smuggling, climbed to the facility’s roof, damaging property in the process.
The men involved were mainly fisherman, who refugee advocates say are poor and were manipulated by the real culprits back in Indonesia.
Australia has set an annual quota for accepting refugees under the international resettlement programs at 10,000. However, the country detains migrants who enter Australia illegally until their asylum claims are processed.
The refugee issue has played a central role in Australia’s recent federal election. The country has seen a massive influx of asylum seekers in the last two years, many arriving illegally by boat from Asian countries like Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.
Since January 2010, more than 4,000 people have tried to make the dangerous journey to Australia by sea—an increase of 30 percent compared to 2009 figures.
This has caused overcrowding in detention centers, putting stress on the system, and on the speed of processing the claims.
The opposition Liberal government has blamed Labor’s lenient policies for the problems.
“What we are seeing up in Darwin is of great concern,” said opposition Immigration spokesperson Scott Morrison, reports ABC Australia. “This is a pressure-cooker situation.”
He says the opposition has sought a briefing on the incident, but the government has refused the request.
Australia is still hanging in limbo following an indecisive election on Aug. 23, where both major parties failed to win a majority of the votes.
With more than 80 percent of the votes counted, the Liberals appear to be ahead by 2,000 votes, but the balance of power hangs in the hands of four independent members. The final decision of whom they will give preference to may not be decided for another week.
