Refugees resume hunger strike at Australian detention camp
Dozens of Iraqi asylum seekers at the infamous Womera detention centre in the Australian Outback have restarted a hunger strike in protest at the Government’s slow pace of processing their cases.
Jeremy Moore, a lawyer for the detainees, said 140 Iraqis are refusing food because they believe the authorities only take notice when they harm themselves.
Australia’s Immigration Department said the detainees have dug about a dozen graves and have been lying in them for days in the heat of the Australian desert.
"They are just sick and tired of waiting to be processed," Mr Moore said. "They are genuine refugees and they have just run out of patience with the Government."
Prime Minister John Howard has refused to be swayed by the protest, which follow a similar hunger strike by the detainees at Woomera earlier this year.
"We won’t be moved by that kind of behaviour," Mr Howard said. "We will continue to process people as speedily as we can, but our policy remains in place."
Australia detains all suspected illegal immigrants, including women and children, if they caught trying to enter the country. It often takes up to two years for their applications for political asylum to be processed.
This policy has been criticised by human rights groups throughout the world.
