(i) Sydney, 12.30pm, CBD, outside Immigration Dept., Lee St;

(ii) at Villawood, 5pm. (Villawood Detention Centre, Miowera Rd entrance,Villawood, speakers include Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon and others).

The Sydney actions are part of national protests to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the detention of Ranjini and her two children in Melbourne. Ranjini has since had her third child, Paari, born in detention in January 2013.

Ranjini is one of 56 ASIO negative refugees (plus seven children) who face a life in detention because of the government’s present discriminatory policy.

Ranjini and a handful of other ASIO-negative refugees have given evidence to the review of the ASIO decisions being run by retired judge Margaret Stone. But the Stone review is severely limited. Not least because her findings will only be recommendations; the final decision will remain with ASIO and the Immigration Minister.

“Most of the ASIO negative refugees have been in detention for between three and four years. Their physical and mental health deteriorates day by day. They should be released. They, and their families face a life sentence without any proper appeal rights,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition.

“An adverse ASIO assessment does not mean that the refugees are any threat to the Australian community and there is no evidence that any of the ASIO negative refugees are any threat to the community. Indeed, involvement with so-called people smuggling can be enough to attract a negative finding. ASIO does not require them to be in detention. The Minister has the power to release them on bridging visas but is simply sitting on his hands.

“We are extremely worried that unless there is a speedy decision by the current Minister, they will be left vulnerable to any incoming Liberal Immigration Minister. The Coalition has said it will remove even the limited review rights of the Stone review from the ASIO negative refugees.”

For more information contact Ian Rintoul 0417 275 713

World Refugee Day rally, Sydney Town Hall, Sunday 16 June, 1pm – No Crime to Seek Asylum; End mandatory detention; Close Manus Island, Close Nauru; rally for right to processing, and right to work

“It is the government not smugglers that are pushing families onto asylum boats,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition. “Unless the government reverses the so-called ‘no advantage’ rule and allows family reunion, many more families will have no alternative to get onto boats.

“The so-called ‘no advantage’ principle means that thousands of asylum seekers have been left in limbo without any processing of their claims. The direct result of ‘no advantage’ is that the families of these asylum seekers are also left in often dangerous circumstances with no hope of being re-united with husbands and fathers for years, if at all.

“In some instances it is the initiative of the wives themselves to opt to take a boat as their circumstances deteriorate and they are denied any possibility of family reunion.

“The second reason is the adoption of the Expert Panel’s recommendation to discriminate against refugees having access to family reunion through the Special Humanitarian Program. Refugees’ family reunion applications are now pushed to the bottom of the pile.”

One Rohingya refugee living in Australia for two years whose wife and two children were stranded in Malaysia was told by the Australian embassy in Kuala Lumpur, after months of waiting for a response, that his family reunion application was “closed”. By that time he had been separated from his wife and family for ten years. Legal representation forced the embassy to re-open the application but the refugee was told the application would take at least seven years to process.

“Not surprisingly, the woman and the two children arrived by boat several weeks ago,” said Rintoul.

“The government was warned months ago that the consequences of their policies would be exactly the same as those produced by the Howard government’s introduction of temporary protection visas – hundreds and potentially thousands of families will have to get on boats. Dumping families in the community is no disincentive to get on a boat – if the alternative is indefinite separation.

“The ‘no advantage’ rule must be scrapped. Refugees need the right to family reunion. And families and all asylum seekers must have proper resources, must be allowed to work and must be processed.”

For more information, contact Ian Rintoul mob 0417 275 713

Speakers include:
Les Murray (SBS’s ‘Mr Football’)
Sarah Hanson-Young (Greens Senator)
Ian Rintoul (Refugee Action Coalition)
Former Manus Island detention centre worker

By June, the federal election will be just three months away. Join us to help break the downward spiral on refugee and asylum seeker policy

Close Manus Island, Close Nauru: End Pacific Solution 2.0
Reinstate bridging visa work rights
No deportations to danger
End mandatory detention

Endorsed by Refugee Action Coalition, Chilout, Labor for Refugees

Invite your friends to the Facebook event here

Download a poster here to stick up at work, uni or near where you live

Download the leaflet design here

“Abbott’s dishonest and offensive billboard was taken down after it was corrected by graffiti artists. However, it now features Michael Keenan and Darryl Moore, who happily posed with Tony Abbott on Monday morning”, said Mark Goudkamp from the Refugee Action Coalition who confronted Tony Abbott on at his press conference.

“Along with Abbott, shadow Minister for Justice, Customs and Border Protection Michael Keenan has been utterly unrepentant about the Liberals’ use of the word ‘illegal’, despite being widely criticised, including by the Press Council, for doing so”, added Goudkamp.

After this peak-hour action, the protesters will join other activists from around the country outside the East Perth train station at 10am to board buses to Northam, where a series of protest actions will occur over the Anzac weekend. The main two main public events outside Northam’s Yongah Hill detention centre are a candlelight vigil starting at 6pm on Friday 26th April with Amnesty International, and a protest with activists and ex-detainee speakers at 1pm on Saturday 27th.

“Incidences of self-harm in detention, like those yesterday at MITA in Melbourne remain all too common. By going to Northam, we aim to give hope to those locked up inside that there are many people in Australia who support their right to freedom.

“Disgracefully, Serco has banned all visits to detainees from today for four days, even before the convergence has commenced”, said Victoria Iverson-Martin from the Refugee Rights Action Network who regularly visits Hazara, Iranian and Tamil detainees at the centre.

“Like previous refugee convergences, Northam is about sending a message to the Australian public that the bipartisan support for mandatory detention, offshore processing, and the indefinite detention of the ASIO negative refugees has to end.

“And in light of the 7.30 Report’s revelations of the abduction and torture of a Tamil migrant who went back to visit his family in Sri Lanka, the government’s screening out of Tamil asylum seekers must be halted immediately. Unfortunately, a more humane approach to asylum seekers and refugees is unlikely to come from our current political leaders”, said Ian Rintoul of RAC.

For comment or information, contact: Mark Goudkamp 0422078376, Victoria Martin-Iverson 0410589064 or Ian Rintoul 0417275713

Also visit http://rran.org/ for updates.

The Amnesty vigil event on Friday is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/506069156096423/

An Afghan man, 32, with refugee status tried to hang himself around 2.30pm, while a 17 year old Iraqi juvenile jumped off a roof between 3.30pm and 4.00pm.

The Afghan man has been in detention for more than three years and is being held despite being found to be a refugee. The Iraqi boy has been in detention around six months.

Both men have been hospitalised and are believed to have serious injuries.

“The attempted suicides highlight the on-going horror of mandatory detention,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition.

“Neither of these men should have been in detention. The Afghan man has already been found to be a refugee and should have been released.

“The Iraqi boy, arrived after the start of the Pacific Solution and has been held in mandatory detention without processing. He should not have been in detention either. His attempted suicide highlights what a mistake it would be for the government to use Curtin to hold families and children.

“Mandatory indefinite detention continues to take a terrible toll on asylum seekers and refugees. Detention centres are still factories of despair and mental illness.”

The tragedies come as refugee activists begin a national convergence on Perth and the detention centre at Yongah Hill for protests over the Anzac Day long weekend.

“Hundreds of protesters will be calling for an end to mandatory detention and the closure of all detention centres, including Nauru and Manus Island. We will also be calling for processing to begin for all those who have arrived since 13 August, like the Iraqi boy in MITA, and who have been left in limbo. ”said Rintoul.

For more information contact Ian Rintoul 0417 275 713;  or Feiyi Zhang 0416 121 616

“Tony Abbott continues to peddle myths and misinformation about asylum seekers. His bill-board refers to illegal boats but asylum boats are not illegal. Abbott well knows that it is not illegal to seek asylum in Australia but he would rather scare-monger than tell the truth,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition. “The Coalition is doing all it can to use asylum seekers to win the Federal election. He is committed to wasting even more millions of dollars on detention centres and off-shore processing than the Labor government. Those millions would be better spent on providing the money needed for education, health and boosting the Newstart allowance.

“But Labor and Liberal are involved in a race to shamelessly buy votes at the expense of the truth and at the expense of asylum seekers lives,” said Rintoul.

Two refugee supporters challenged Abbott at his billboard launch; for comment contact Mark Goudkamp, 0422 078 376. Abbott deflected questions about whether an Abbott government would use Curtin to imprison children, as the Labor government is proposing.

“Besides being completely phoney, Tony Abbott’s mantra of ‘stop the boats’ is just another version of the Coalition’s election policy of vilifying asylum seekers,” said Mark Goudkamp

Refugee Convergence

Meanwhile, hundreds of refugee supporters will begin to converge on Perth from Anzac Day this week. A program of protests in the city and two days of action outside the Yongah Hill detention centre, south of Perth, will highlight the outstanding detention issues.

“In particular, we will be protesting to free the refugees, for the right to processing and the right to work for asylum seekers who have arrived after 13 August 2012. Around 14,000 asylum seekers who have arrived since 13 August are living in the community without being processed and without the right to work.

“It is a fundamental denial of human rights on both counts. The Labor government is punishing people for daring to seek asylum. It is a shockingly short-sighted policy. Over 90 per cent of these will be found to be refugees and will become Australian citizens, but Labor is leaving them in limbo and distressed conditions,” said Ian Rintoul.

For more information contact Ian Rintoul, 0417 275 713 or Mark Goudkamp (in Perth) 0422 078 376

“We have grave concerns that the government has screened out some of the Sri Lankan asylum seekers who arrived at Geraldton nine days ago and is removing them today from Christmas Island,” said Ian Rintoul, from the Refugee Action Coalition.

“Disgracefully, the Geraldton people have been denied access to lawyers or community assistance. They have been denied phone calls since arriving in Australia.

‘Any attempt to screen them out will be a vindictive move by the Immigration Minister determined to teach asylum seekers a lesson for daring to land on the Australian mainland. We are calling on Brendan O’Connor to allow legal access to all asylum seekers and stop the secretive screening-out procedures used to deny asylum seekers the right to claim asylum,” said Rintoul.

“The fact that screening-out is done behind closed doors, with no scrutiny or accountability says everything about the lengths the government will go to discriminate against asylum seekers. They know screening-out is legally dodgy and will do anything to prevent any legal or independent scrutiny of their actions.

“It is time for the Minister to come clean. The idea that asylum seekers do not wish to make protection claims is simply not believable. It should not be left to some Immigration bureaucrat to determine whether as asylum seekers has a credible claim. That is a basic denial of justice. Every claim should be subject to the same refugee determination procedures. Justice must be seen to be done – but all we are seeing is justice denied.”

For more information contact Ian Rintoul 0417 275 713

The broken promise has fuelled tensions and protests on the island. Two asylum seekers stitched their lips and up to 70 single male asylum seekers began a hunger strike on Friday, 12 April.

The protest ended on the 15 April, only after threats and physical beatings. The two asylum seekers who had stitched their lips were taken out of the camp and returned hours later with the stitches removed after being told that any protest would “be bad for them” and go against them in their refugee assessment.

Similar threats were made against the other protesters.

“We were forced to end our protest, but there is no processing. We are in a bad situation. They are constantly harming us,” one asylum seeker on Manus Island told the Refugee Action Coalition.

The heat and humidity is a constant issue. Constant power failures mean that there are no fans. “We can’t sleep. And the tents and beds are wet because of the humidity. When the water is stagnant around the tents, the smell is disgusting,” RAC was told. Sewerage pipes from the detention centre empty into the ocean just outside the detention centre and effluent often washes onto the beach.

“The Immigration Department has condemned Manus Island. They place is unfit for human habitation, yet 29 children are still forced to stay there. It should be closed,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition.

For more information contact Ian Rintoul 0417 275 713

The ambulance officers indicated that they have very low blood sugar and an unusually slow heart rate. Some are also now showing blood in their urine – a symptom that can be an early indication of kidney failure.

The hunger strikers are reported to be “very weak”, but all have refused medical treatment or appeals to eat or drink.

Refugee advocates are growing increasingly concerned for their welfare, and are appealing for urgent action from the government.

“The Minister has the power to grant visas that would allow these refugees to live in the community. There is no evidence that any of the refugees is any kind of threat to the community.

“The indefinite detention being inflicted on the refugee is cruel, extra-judicial punishment. They should be released.”

For more information contact Ian Rintoul 0417 275 713, or Feiyi Zhang 0416 121 616

Most are suffering dizziness, headaches, feeling hot and cold, while some are no longer able to stand without assistance.

“The lack of attention from medical or Serco staff is extremely worrying,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition, “There should be constant monitoring of the refugees’ condition.”

“The potential for a tragedy at the MITA is quite high, given that the refugees are on a dry hunger strike. Critical clinical symptoms, kidney failure, heart failure can set in very quickly.”

“The government needs to urgently respond. The Minister for Immigration has still given no explanation for the on-going detention of these refugees. The adverse ASIO finding does not mean that the refugees are any threat to the community. ASIO does not require them to be detained.

“They are simply being held at the Minister’s ‘pleasure’. It is a complete denial of natural justice,” said Rintoul.

For more information contact Ian Rintoul 0417 275 713 or Feiyi Zhang 0416 121 616