Papua New Guinean government threatens to cut off communications for asylum seekers in the Australian-run detention centre as protest goes on

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The first two refugees have been moved from detention on Manus Island to a purpose-built “refugee transit centre” near Lorengau, as a week-long hunger strike still grips the detention centre, and the Papua New Guinean government threatens to cut off all communication for detainees.



Late on Wednesday afternoon, two other men attempted suicide in Mike compound inside the detention centre. Pictures and video – that Guardian Australia has chosen not to publish – show other detainees rushing to intervene and stop them, and then carrying them to medical care.

Earlier on Wednesday, two refugees, one Iranian and one Pakistani, were moved voluntarily to the new refugee transit centre in Lorengau, the provincial capital.

The purpose-built centre – built at a cost of $138m by the Australian government – is designed as temporary housing within the Lorengau community for refugees, before they are resettled elsewhere in PNG.

The two men moved have not been a part of this week’s protests, and had previously expressed a desire to be released from detention into the community.

However, up to 50 other refugees, who were told they would be forcibly removed to Lorengau on Thursday, are still refusing to go.

Resistance to the move to Lorengau was a key driver of protests that have racked the centre this week, with refugees saying they feared being attacked by the local population.

In February last year, during riots in the centre, PNG police and workers stormed the detention centre and attacked detainees, killing one, and injuring 70.

Threats of violence against detainees remain commonplace, and many detainees remain fearful of the local population.

The men in Lorengau will be guarded, the Australian government has said.

The men will receive a 100-kina-a-week allowance, as well as language training, but they will not be able to work on Manus. The PNG government aims, ultimately, to find them jobs and resettle them elsewhere in the country.

Ian Rintoul from the Refugee Action Coalition said, despite the mens’ willingness to move to Lorengau, they remained vulnerable.

“Everybody hopes that that transfer will go safely, but whether they can be kept safe remains a major concern. The whole situation is tense, and insecure.

“It is demonstration of the level of fear amongst these men, that only two men, out of more than 1000 in the centre, of which 71 have been found to be refugees, only two are willing to go.”

The office of the immigration minister, Peter Dutton, did not return calls.

Inside the Manus detention centre, several hundred men remain on a hunger-strike.

Many have refused food and fluid for days. Dozens have collapsed from dehydration and have been placed on intravenous drips by medical staff.

Several men have also committed acts of self-harm – four have swallowed razor blades and others have drunk detergent.

Those on hunger strike say they will continue their protest against being moved. In letters, they have asked to be handed over to the United Nations.

At the same time, the PNG government is seeking to control all communications coming from within the detention centre.

Throughout the protests of the last week, detainees have made regular contact with media, refugee advocates, and their families. They have sent out images and videos of the protests, often to the embarrassment of the Australian and PNG governments who have sought to downplay their seriousness.

Papua New Guinea’s immigration minister, Rimbink Pato, told Radio New Zealand he wanted to restrict all communications with the outside world.

“Nobody has access to the centre except the PNG and the Australian government, so with the internet and all the other access that is available, they’re directly linking in with the asylum seekers, and so how we can control that information is also being addressed by the Australian government and the PNG government so that they will get correct information that is in their best interests.”

The regulations imposed on detainees by Transfield specifically allow them free communication with the outside world.

“You will be able to communicate freely with family, friends, diplomatic or consular representatives, and other representatives,” says the Transfield “rights and responsibilities” document, obtained by Guardian Australia.

Victoria Martin-Iverson from the Refugee Rights Action Network said efforts to silence men who had not committed any crime was a flagrant breach of human rights.

“RRAN is horrified that people being interned without charge or trial may be held incommunicado as well.”