Greek prime minister and leader of Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) Alexis Tsipras, released the statement below on April 20, which is abridged from
Asylum seekers & refugees
鈥淭oo many people have already lost their lives in the Mediterranean sea, more than a thousand this week, which is a major crime against humanity,鈥 The (EL) said in a April 20 statement. 鈥淲e need to stop it immediately!鈥
The EL, a group made up of left-wing parties from across Europe, said: 鈥淲e reject any attempt to solve the so-called 'migration problem' by an increased militarisation.鈥
Moreland city council in Melbourne unanimously passed a motion opposing the closure of remote Aboriginal communities by the Western Australian government.
The council will write to federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs Nigel Scullion, WA Premier Colin Barnett and local federal ministers and Victorian senators in protest. It will also send a letter of solidarity to the Aboriginal communities under threat of forced closure.
The power to 鈥減lay God鈥 with the lives of asylum seekers was granted to Australia鈥檚 immigration minister by the passage of the most punitive refugee laws ever seen last December.
Former immigration minister Scott Morrison, who held refugee children to ransom to pressure recalcitrant senators to concede their votes, pushed through the laws.
鈥淲e will not be treated like slaves,鈥 a refugee forced to live on Nauru said during a series of public protests held by refugees on the island. Hundreds of refugees living in the community, alongside asylum seekers still held in detention camps, have been holding a campaign of non-cooperation and protest since February 25. Children have boycotted class, refugees with jobs have begun a stay-away strike and many are refusing to talk to their case mangers.
Twenty-two members of Resistance: Young Socialist Alliance initiated a 24-hour hunger strike in solidarity with the hunger-striking refugees on Manus Island. The action, held from noon on January 20 until noon on January 21, aimed to draw attention to the plight of 700 refugees on Manus Island. It was a symbolic gesture that allowed young people from around the country to start conversations with others who were unaware of what was happening on Manus Island at the direction of the Australian government.
On January 21, hundreds of people rallied in Melbourne in support of the ongoing hunger strike on Manus Island.
The shocking bipartisan cruelty towards refugees and asylum-seekers continues to expose the moral bankruptcy of the federal coalition government and the equally culpable ALP opposition.
The latest despicable acts of criminal neglect and denial of human rights by our government towards asylum-seekers have been tragically playing out in a Darwin detention centre and in the Australian detention centre on PNG鈥檚 Manus Island, to our daily horror and disgust.
Iranian asylum-seeker 鈥淢artin鈥 is now at a point of no return after more than 80 days on hunger strike in a Darwin detention centre.
There is one message refugees in the Manus Island detention centre want Australia to hear: we need help.
In a letter written on January 20, a group of asylum seekers taking part in a mass hunger strike wrote: 鈥淚n here alarms are ringing but heartless politicians are still indifferent.鈥
They said they were writing 鈥渇rom the heart of Manus鈥 as the hunger strike entered its 鈥渘inth day and it will continue鈥.
鈥淲e will continue our push until we reach our ultimate goal, which is freedom.鈥
The statement below was released by on January 20.
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Popular concern grows for the well-being of refugees in detention, as more than 700 asylum seekers on Manus Island enter their eighth day of hunger strike, and up to 200 are suffering dehydration.
Witnessing an outpour of reports detailing increasingly desperate acts of self harm, the Australian public stands up to say enough to the torture of refugees, and calls on the Coalition government for compassion.
The statement below was released by on January 20.
***
Popular concern grows for the well-being of refugees in detention, as more than 700 asylum seekers on Manus Island enter their eighth day of hunger strike, and up to 200 are suffering dehydration.
Witnessing an outpour of reports detailing increasingly desperate acts of self harm, the Australian public stands up to say enough to the torture of refugees, and calls on the Coalition government for compassion.
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