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PNG court rejects bid to restore power and water to Manus centre PNG court rejects bid to restore power and water to Manus centre
(35 minutes later)
Papua New Guinea’s supreme court has refused a bid to restore power and water to the Manus detention centre. Papua New Guinea’s supreme court has refused a bid to restore power, water and medical services to the Manus detention centre.
Hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers have refused to leave the Manus Island detention centre, which was closed last Tuesday. About 600 refugees and asylum seekers have refused to leave the Manus Island detention centre, which was closed last Tuesday.
Electricity was shut off to the final compounds last Wednesday morning, more than 12 hours after the scheduled 5pm shutdown, and the generator was removed. Food, water and other essential services had already been stopped, and all staff left early on Tuesday last week.Electricity was shut off to the final compounds last Wednesday morning, more than 12 hours after the scheduled 5pm shutdown, and the generator was removed. Food, water and other essential services had already been stopped, and all staff left early on Tuesday last week.
The asylum seekers still living in the compound have pleaded for Australia and other nations to come to their aid, saying they are too scared to leave the compound to seek alternative accommodation in the main township out of fear they will be attacked by locals.The asylum seekers still living in the compound have pleaded for Australia and other nations to come to their aid, saying they are too scared to leave the compound to seek alternative accommodation in the main township out of fear they will be attacked by locals.
More to come ... The court application, brought by PNG lawyer Ben Lomai and Australian barrister Greg Barns, sought the restoration of food, water and health services to the detention centre, arguing to withdraw those before a safe resettlement option was available for the men was a breach of their constitutionally guaranteed human rights.
But PNG’s chief justice said he was satisfied the PNG government had provided alternative accommodation that allowed for free movement and that the services provided were of sufficient standard.
The 600 within the detention centre are running low on food, and are relying, in some cases, on wells they have dug and rubbish bins collecting rainwater, for drinking water. Several men are dangerously low on medicines.
The alternative accommodation the 600 refugees and asylum seekers are being encouraged to move to is not yet ready for habitation according to independent observers. But fundamentally, the men argue, they are not safe living in the Manusian community. Tensions between local people and the transplanted refugee population have been growing in recent months, and marred by several violent incidents.
“Just now, the PNG court rejected our application,” Iranian refugee Behrouz Boochani said, in the wake of the court’s decision.
“It means the government can kill us by depriving us of access to food. We are outside of any law.”
Amnesty International has said lives were at risk unless essential services were restored to the detention centre, and that refugees and asylum seekers should not be forcibly relocated until their dignity and safety could be guaranteed.
“If authorities don’t act immediately, there is a real risk that the situation will catastrophically deteriorate. The lives of these men, who are only asking for their rights to dignity and safety, are at serious risk,” Amnesty International’s Pacific researcher, Kate Schuetze, said.
“This is the third time I have visited Manus Island, but what we witnessed there over the past week shocked me to the core. This is a desperate situation on the brink of a catastrophe.”
“That the Australian and PNG authorities have created such a crisis, leaving vulnerable refugees who sought Australia’s protection in such a desperate situation is callous, cruel and completely disgraceful.”
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has dismissed the fears of refugees who say they are too scared to leave the detention centre, instead claiming they were being encouraged to stay there by refugee advocates and the Greens.
He also rejected New Zealand’s offer to take 150 refugees from Australia’s offshore island centres, saying the Australia-United States resettlement deal should be exhausted before considering that option.