Spears and sharpened objects removed from Manus Island asylum centre
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Version 0 of 1. Spears and sharpened objects have been removed from Australia’s Manus Island asylum seeker processing centre during a search by Papua New Guinean police, sources have told Guardian Australia. The police search, understood to have been requested by the G4S security firm contracted to the Australian government, took place on Sunday in the Oscar compound, which houses almost 500 mostly Iranian asylum seeker men. It is understood G4S had been concerned about the possibility of a riot or violence in the compound where asylum seekers have been threatening a breakout if certain demands are not met by Christmas. During the search, believed to have been sanctioned by a PNG court, some staff at the centre were on evacuation alert. One asylum seeker was taken from the centre in handcuffs after it was over. In recent weeks G4S officers had offered an “amnesty” in the compound, asking asylum seekers to surrender any weapons. Some sharpened objects were given up. In a report last month the United Nations High Commission on Refugees expressed deep concerns that the poor conditions and extremely slow process for determining refugee claims on Manus seemed designed to force even genuine refugees to choose to return to their country of origin. It found there were only two or three PNG officers conducting refugee assessments on Manus at any one time, that there was no clear law or regulation for them to follow in conducting the assessments, that only 55 of the more than 1000 asylum seekers on the island had had an initial interview and that since Australia began sending asylum seekers there in November 2012, not a single claim had been finalised. “Overall, UNHCR has serious concerns about the refugee settlement determination capacity and capability currently available to the government of PNG to process, in an efficient and timely manner, the asylum seekers who have arrived, and will continue to arrive, at the regional processing centre. “In this regard, UNHCR notes with concern that as of 28 October 2013, of the 1,093 asylum seekers who were at the [centre] during UNHCR’s visit, only about 160 had been able to lodge applications for asylum and only 55 had received ... interviews. “UNHCR notes with concern that since the decision was made by the governments of PNG and Australia to transfer asylum seekers to PNG from Australia in November 2012, no [refugee] decision has been finalised and handed down by the government of PNG.” In July a riot destroyed the main buildings of Australia’s processing centre on Nauru and caused an estimated $60m worth of damage. The immigration minister, Scott Morrison, said last week the government would build a new high-security facility on Manus to house asylum seekers whose claims had failed, where staff would have greater powers to cope with an increased risk of riots. Another facility would be built for those whose claims were successful. Morrison said the criticism in the UNHCR report was “highly unfair and quite ill-informed”. Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |