Australian governmental anti-refugee violence

This video says about itself:

June 2003

Australia’s detention centre at Woomera was hailed as the new way of dealing with illegal immigration. This week’s offering is the definitive story of the controversial camp. The compound gained notoriety for its riots, protests and breakouts and became a damning indictment of Australian immigration policy. And whilst detainees lived in atrocious conditions, the American backed company running the centre siphoned off millions in profits. It’s a story of lies, cover-ups and relentless trauma.

Produced by ABC Australia

Distributed by Journeyman Pictures

By Carolyn Kennett in Australia:

Australian government uses tear gas and synthetic bullets to suppress refugee protests

19 March 2011

In a clear demonstration of the criminal character of its “border protection” and mandatory detention regime, the Gillard Labor government has supported Australian Federal Police (AFP) units firing tear gas canisters and potentially lethal “bean bag” bullets at protesting refugees inside the immigration detention centre on Christmas Island this week. At least one detainee was badly wounded, reportedly suffering a broken leg as the result of being hit by one of the synthetic bullets. After a week of escalating clashes on the remote Indian Ocean island, the Labor government has mobilised nearly 200 AFP personnel to take command of the locked-down facility, in an attempt to suppress further protests.

The government’s actions are in flagrant violation of international refugee law, which upholds the right to flee persecution.

Kirk Semple, The New York Times News Service: “Immigration enforcement in the United States is plagued by unjust treatment of detainees, including inadequate access to lawyers and insufficient medical care, and by the excessive use of prison-style detention, the human rights arm of the Organization of American States said Thursday. The group, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, issued those findings in a report that also took aim at a federal program that allows county and state law enforcement officials to enforce federal immigration laws. The report said the government had failed to ensure that local police were not singling out people by race or detaining illegal immigrants on the pretext of investigating crimes”: here.