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Indonesian Crewmen Protest Their Detention In Australia
SYDNEY - A group of Indonesian crewmen Sunday protested against their detention in Australia, setting mattresses and paper on fire and climbing onto the roof of their compound, an official said.
The incident began at the Darwin Immigration Detention Center in northern Australia at 4:00 am (1800 GMT Saturday) when two men climbed a tree and refused to come down.
Others among the 97 Indonesian crewmen in the compound then joined in, setting mattresses alight and chanting and yelling, prompting officials to call in police and fire officers, a department of immigration spokesman said.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that about a dozen of the men, wearing masks, face-paint and hoods and carrying long poles, had later taken to the roof of their building and were trying to stop anyone climbing up to join them.
"The protest has now concluded and order is being restored to the affected compound housing Indonesian crewman," the immigration spokesman said.
"Their reasons are their own but obviously they were airing grievances about being detained generally."
The immigration department said there were 97 Indonesian crew detained in the compound and a "significant proportion" of them were involved in some way in the protest.
No asylum seekers were involved in the incident which was limited to Indonesian crewmen likely to face people smuggling charges, who would have arrived in Australia with boats carrying the would-be refugees.
Australia has a policy of mandatory detention for boatpeople and generally processes asylum seekers at Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean but increased numbers of arrivals have recently forced the reopening of centers on the mainland.
AFP
