Centre decommissioned

National

Immigration and Border Security Minister Petrus Thomas says the Manus regional processing centre at the Lombrum Naval Base has been decommissioned.
“All necessary equipment and structures for the provision of services have been removed and it is no longer possible to restore any services,” Thomas said in a statement yesterday.
“Decommissioning activities have been extensive and has been ongoing since the message of the closure first commenced many months ago and reached the residents.
“The absence of services should not come as a surprise to anyone.”
The centre closed last Tuesday as ordered by the Supreme Court because it deemed it to be illegal and asylum seekers were kept illegally.
“The provision of services at the decommissioned facility is not simply a matter of reconnecting the water or turning on the electricity. I want to be very clear that there is no capacity to restore services, there is no service provider to deliver services and more significantly, as services are available at the new facilities, there is no need for services to be reconnected,” Thomas said.
“The Government takes its obligations towards the treatment and care of all persons transferred to PNG very seriously.
“However, it is not incumbent on PNG to deliver services and this remains the responsibility of the service providers at the new location.
“The PNG Immigration and Citizenship Services Authority has inspected the sites and not only confirmed the readiness of the new accommodation facilities but services such as catering, cleaning, security, including a medical clinic, are already operational at East Lorengau Transit Centre.
“Photos demonstrating the quality and standard of the accommodation have been made available to the refugees and non-refugees.”
“PNG Immigration staff have been interacting closely with asylum seekers at the MRPC for many years and have developed a good rapport with the residents. It is apparent to me that there are a small number of persons within the decommissioned centre who exert considerable influence over others for their own selfish motivations. Anyone using threats and intimidation will be held responsible for anything that happens to residents willing to move.
“I would like to reassure everyone that Manus is a very peaceful place and residents have travelled freely between Lorengau and Lombrum Naval Base without any major incident since April 2016.

One thought on “Centre decommissioned

  • PNG does not deserve to be demanded by people who left their own country at their own will/risk, (to do certain things according to these people’s wishes).
    Simply say you would like to go back to where you came from. PNG’s got some 8 million people, most of whom living in settlements and villages with inadequate food/housing supplies and unhygienic health conditions to cater for. PNG citizens are receiving far, far less than the asylum seekers right now.
    These people have created situations that would not have come about if it hadn’t been for them being here in the first place-landed PNG citizens in court (after committing crimes under intimidating circumstances), created unwanted pregnancies to PNG woman, no moral respect for our elected government etc.
    Caring for others is natural in PNG blood. We feel for the asylum seekers. And we are well aware of our international obligations (and treaties we are a signatory to). However, to see strangers in our land thinking they deserve better than PNGs is intolerable.

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