What is really happening on Manus

 A SITUATION report by Amnesty International on the Manus asylum detention centre is a shock and horror story.

The globally-acclaimed hu­man rights organisation says its latest report is based on the most up-to-date, accurate information gathered during a visit by its team some three weeks ago.

Apparently, the Australian government and Papua New Guinea Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Rimbink Pato think otherwise and have dismissed the Amnesty report as inaccurate and out of date.

Who do we believe – Amnesty International or the Australian government and Pato? 

Most right-thinking people would tend to believe Amnesty, which has set the benchmark in the global fight against human rights abuses and its “campaign against torture’ which won them the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977 and the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights in 1978. 

Amnesty’s latest report on the Manus detention centre is reminiscent of the article “The Forgotten Prisoners”, which was published in The Observer newspaper in London on May 28, 1961. 

That article by lawyer Peter Benenson led to the founding of the organisation that year.

Amnesty makes shocking revelations that question the motive of the Australian government in bringing asylum seekers to Papua New Guinea to be processed. 

There are about 1,100 asylum seekers detained at the Manus facility, from countries like Afghanistan, Burma, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan and Syria.

Amnesty says the living conditions in the facility are hot, extremely cramped and poorly ventilated. 

As well, there is no privacy. The conditions in one dormitory were so bad that Amnesty considers the accommodation of asylum seekers there a violation of the prohibition on torture and other ill-treatment. 

“P Dorm is a World War II building with a low, curved, metal roof. 

“It sleeps 112 men on bunk beds arranged with no space between. There were no windows, and two standing fans. As a result, the smell is overwhelmingly bad and the heat is stifling. Asylum seekers reported finding snakes in the room and flooding when it rained.”

During the visit, the Amnesty team witnessed a string of humiliations. “The men spend several hours each day queuing for meals, toilets and showers in the tropical heat and pouring rain, with no shade or shelter. Staff refer to them by their boat ID, not their names. Almost all are denied shoes. Most have had their possessions confiscated by people smugglers or staff on Christmas Island.”

Amnesty International is gravely concerned that the Immigration Health Advisory Group will be dismantled. The independent body of psychiatrists, psychologists, general practitioners and other medical professionals and advocates have been providing advice to the Australian government about the serious mental health impacts of offshore processing and long term detention.

Amnesty says the group’s demise is the latest announcement by the Australian government that builds a veil of secrecy around its handling of refugees.

“Despite the best efforts of advocates and journalists, the workings of Australia’s offshore processing policy, including Australia’s detention centre in Papua New Guinea, continue to remain largely hidden. With the Australian government’s im­plementation of Operation Sovereign Borders, information on asylum seekers arriving by boat has been even more closely guarded.”

Furthermore, the Manus facility is unable to provide suitable treatment for men with serious illnesses and disabilities, which include asthma, diabetes, epilepsy and gastroenteritis. 

There is no denying that Amnesty International has made some shocking discoveries on Manus Island, which require a full explanation from both the Australian and PNG governments. 

However, that is highly unlikely due to the veil of secrecy.

The bottom line is if the Australians want to pursue a policy that promotes human rights abuses, let them do so on their own soil.

Let’s not compromise our friendship and good relations with people of other nationalities just to suit the whims of the Australians.