Further revelations on Curtin hunger strikers In its next issue, due out on Monday February 14, Green Left Weekly will again pick up the story of the hunger striking refugees at the Curtin immigration detention centre in remote NW Australia. Last week, Green Left Weekly was able to reveal the contents of a letter from one of the detainees. The letter, which was smuggled out of the camp and to Green Left Weekly, said in part ``We are the detainees in Curtin camp, Derby. We are suffering inside the camp. Where is human rights? ``Please help us, we will die if nobody comes to help us ... We have no access to outside, not any way to reach help.'' Green Left Weekly decided in the public interest to break this story to the wider media before going to print. Consequently there was wide media coverage of the issue last weekend and the Howard Government was forced to admit the hunger strike and the fact that some of the refugees had sewn up their mouths. Since then, the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs has sought to impose a media blackout on the camp, not even allowing refugee advocates or detainees' lawyers in. Information has been extremely difficult to get. The article, by Sean Healy, reveals the conditions inside the camp, the hunger strikers' demands and that they had been planning their action for some time, holding demonstrations inside the camp in the weeks leading up to their action. The article also reveals how determined the department has been to deny them access to legal advice and aid. There is only one telephone in the camp, for example, and detainees are routinely denied access to it. Many detainees are being held incommunicado. Green Left Weekly supporters are organising protests around the country and confronting Immigration Minister Ruddock at his public meetings. To read a copy of the article, buy a hard copy of the newspaper or check out the web-site <www.greenleft.org.au>. Democratic Socialist Party National Office PO Box 515 Broadway NSW 2007 Australia Tel: 61 (0)2 9690 1230 Fax: 61 (0)2 9690 1381 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.dsp.org.au/ -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
