Australian Protesters Demand Closure of Nauru and Papua Camps

In continuation of protests against the situation of a number of migrants in Australia held in detention centers in Nauru and Papua New Guinea, two major cities in the country witnessed large demonstrations on Saturday. Australian protesters on Saturday, November 5, called for an end to the illegal migrant crisis in the country and the closure of two controversial detention centers in the South Pacific. According to Reuters, the protesters particularly focused on the health conditions of children on the small island of Nauru and demanded an end to the detention of refugees in these shelters. Ian Rintoul, a spokesperson and member of the 'Coalition for Action on Refugees', stated, 'Protesters are demanding the immediate release of children and adolescents from these detention centers.' Over 1,400 illegal migrants have been detained in recent years in two camp centers in Nauru and Manus in Papua New Guinea, some of whom are Iranian. The organizers of the protests claimed that thousands participated in each city, but local media provided lower estimates of the number of participants; the police did not provide an estimate of the attendees. The Australian government has implemented strict policies against illegal migrants for the past five years, under which no boats are allowed to head towards the waters of this country to bring illegal migrants. Previously, Prime Minister Scott Morrison stated that the enforcement of this policy has prevented smuggling and human trafficking to Australia and halted the previous trend of illegal migration. However, Morrison's new government is under pressure from human rights groups to release children of illegal migrant families from the Nauru detention center and resettle them in Australia. So far, more than ten of these migrants have died due to the poor conditions of these detention centers, and several have committed suicide. Doctors Without Borders also reported that children are in dire mental and physical conditions in Nauru, and the continued presence of children in this dangerous center is risky. According to this report, some children in this center are in a semi-comatose state and are unable to eat or drink, suffering from severe depression despite their young age and must be removed from the Nauru detention center. Some members of the Australian Parliament have also previously called for the removal of children residing in Nauru from this center. Last week, 11 children were removed from this center due to acute medical conditions and hospitalized in Australian medical facilities. Australia first implemented its strict policies against illegal migrants from 2001 to 2007. These policies have been enforced since 2013 under even harsher conditions against illegal migrants.