Posted on 12/31/2002 6:50:25 PM PST by blam
Australian refugee camp riots spreading
By Mark Chipperfield in Sydney
(Filed: 01/01/2003)
Australian authorities were struggling last night to contain rioting and arson in the country's chain of high-security refugee camps.
The crisis intensified when dozens of asylum seekers attempted to break out of the Villawood detention centre in a western suburb of Sydney after starting fires and attacking guards with iron bars.
The fire damaged refugee camps in Woomera
They seized a vehicle and tried to ram it through the gates, but were blocked by a police car. Local people said smoke was pouring from the centre as police moved in to prevent a mass escape.
Hours earlier, detainees ran riot at a processing facility on Christmas Island, which is designed to prevent refugees seeking asylum on the mainland. They took control of the centre and set fire to the dining hall as they vented frustration at their wait for visas.
The latest trouble comes days after detainees rampaged through three other camps. The Woomera facility in the South Australian outback was reduced to a smoking wreck, with £3 million worth of damage.
A spokesman for the Immigration Department said its guards were still attempting to restore order at Woomera.
"Detainees armed with pipes and other weapons have occupied a compound," he said. "The mess hall has been set on fire and is burning."
Daryl Williams, the attorney-general, described the arson attacks "as an appalling waste of taxpayers' money" which put lives at risk.
The government is particularly upset that refugees damaged the Baxter Detention Centre, a new £15 million facility near Adelaide, which houses 200 detainees. It has air-conditioned rooms with en suite bathrooms and recreational facilities, such as a gym, television and personal computers.
Weekend fires destroyed an entire wing. Dozens of detainees were rescued, with nine refugees and two guards treated for smoke inhalation.
Mr Williams has ordered a full investigation into the riots, warning that anyone found guilty of arson would be deported immediately.
"If the people responsible for lighting fires believe this will assist them in coercing the government to let them stay in Australia, they are wrong," he said.
Groups supporting the asylum seekers say the riots are an outpouring of emotion as refugees wait for months and sometimes years for asylum applications to be processed.
"The government is demonstrating to the Islamic world that it is hostile and doesn't want 'rag-heads' and mosques in Australia," said Bruce Haigh, a former member of the Refugee Review Tribunal.
Even the opposition Labour Party, which generally supports the government's hard line on refugees, says the system must be overhauled.
"If the government made sure the processing of asylum seeker claims happened more quickly, then the level of frustration we've seen would not build up," said Jenny Macklin, Labour's acting leader.
But John Howard, the prime minister, rejected calls to review the treatment of asylum seekers, saying the camps would stay. "I don't accept there is a crisis," he said.
"There is a lot of unrest from people protesting against judgments that they are not entitled to stay in this country. We are not going to allow that to alter our policy."
Ragheads!!
And this is bad because?
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