This week's stories: Eight Deaths Since Beginning of Mandatory Detention...Guess They Were Right Then...Maybe He Couldn't Tell Them Apart...Refugee Children Riot and Try To Escape For No Reason Whatsoever...It's All Under Control...Quotes of the Week.
Federal government records show eight people have died in Australian immigration detention in the past five years, including one confirmed suicide. Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock said five men and three women had died since the introduction of mandatory detention in 1989. Four of the cases involved detainees at the Villawood Detention Centre, of which two died at the Liverpool Hospital. One person was held and died at the Maribyrnong immigration detention centre. Two detainees died in Perth hospitals after being transferred from the Port Hedland and Christmas Island detention facilities. One detainee been held at Port Phillip prison before dying in hospital. The figures do not include any deaths of former detainees after their release. Prime Minister John Howard justified the government's policies on the grounds that "we do provide proper food and medical attention and we provide more recreation facilities than we are given credit for." (The Age, June 27). Two brothers who sought asylum in Australia but failed, have disappeared after being returned to Iran. Amnesty International and the Maritime Union of Australia have both investigated Nadar and Nasser Sayadi-Estahbanati's whereabouts, but found no trace of them. Dr Amir Ahmadi from Sydney University said two other Iranian asylum seekers, forcibly returned to Iran from Turkey, had been executed recently. There are 259 Iranians in detention in Australian, 102 of whom are awaiting removal. Another 425 are on temporary protection visas granted since November 1999. An Iranian living in Melbourne on a temporary protection visa, said the last contact with Nadar Sayadi-Estahbanati had been by phone after he had been interrogated for several days on his return. A spokesperson for Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock said the Government's advice was that people sent back to Iran or who returned voluntarily were not targeted. She did not say where this advice came from. An Amnesty International alert was issued on June 19 over the imprisonment and torture of two British-based Iranian political refugees handed to Iran by Syria. (The Age, June 28). Dante Tan, the Philippines' most wanted fugitive who was allowed to stay in Australia after donating money to the Liberal Party, also gave $10,000 to former Labor immigration minister Nick Bolkus before the 2001 federal election. (The Age, June 28). A survey of children in refugee detention centres has found: 100 percent had seen people self-harm and make suicide attempts. 95 percent had seen a physical assault. Nearly 40 percent claimed to have been assaulted by camp officers. One quarter were kept in solitary confinement. Around 10 per cent alleged sexual harassment. (ABC, 12 May). The deforestation rate in the Amazon has jumped 40 percent last year, the largest increase since 1995. (The Age, June 28). Quotes of the Week: "For public policy reasons we need to have family groups, including children, available for processing and available for removal". Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock. "The Palestinians are of a lower order". Israeli settler Karmi Grabovsky. "The Americans defeated Saddam, but not the Iraqi people". Retired American army officer, quoted in the Age, summing up the attitude of Iraqis to American troops in 'liberated' Iraq. anarchist news service write to James, PO Box 503, Newtown NSW 2042 or email [EMAIL PROTECTED] contact us to get ATNTF emailed directly to you. If you like All the News That Fits, forward it on to people or lists who might be interested in it, or post it on your local Indymedia http://www.indymedia.org. Some other Australian anarchist contacts: Love and Rage is an anarchist, non-profit record label. 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