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Australia must end indefinite detention of Rohingya refugees
Irrawaddy - February 1, 2011
Violet Cho – Early Monday morning, a Rohingya refugee detained in Australia's Northern Immigration Detention Center, went to visit some of his friends in a nearby cell. He asked if there was any update on their immigration case and what might happen to them. They told him that all they knew was that there was no news.
According to a fellow detainee, Ahmed (not his real name) went back to his cell in despair. Later that night, he collected all of his clothes, piled them in the center of the room, covered himself with a blanket and set himself on fire. Fortunately, Ahmed was rescued and survived with some burns. But since that time he has been isolated in a protective cell.
Ahmed's suicide attempt was a result of extreme frustration and despair over his extended, indefinite detention, and the inability of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) to determine whether he and the other detained Rohingya are a security risk.
Ahmed's anxiety is not only about getting into Australia, but also over the future of his family, who are suffering in unstable circumstances in Malaysia. Ahmed left for Australia alone, leaving his wife and three children with little support. His dream was to claim asylum in Australia and then bring the rest of his family there so they could finally have legal status, peace and security.
On December 22, 2009, Ahmed arrived in Australia in one of four boats carrying approximately 40 Rohingya asylum seekers from Malaysia that had been intercepted by Australian authorities. Ahmed and the other Rohingyas traveling with him were then detained on Christmas Island for four months, before being moved to the Northern Immigration Detention Centre in Darwin. While all have had their refugee claims approved by Australian immigration, more than twenty are being held for extended periods awaiting security clearance from ASIO.
ASIO, perhaps comparable to Burma's Special Branch, is charged with determining whether asylum seekers are a threat to Australia's security. This is a secretive, non-transparent and lengthy process. Many Rohingya refugees have been languishing in detention for more than a year awaiting a decision from ASIO. Ahmed has now been in detention for 13 months.
Weighing on the minds of these detainees is the case of Shoef Mohammed, one of their compatriots who is currently languishing in Sydney's Villawood Detention Center. On November 19, 2010, after sixteen months in detention, he received notice from the ASIO that his security clearance had been rejected. This means he is in a period of indefinite detention – he cannot be deported to Burma because he is a refugee, but he cannot be released into Australia because he is a "threat."
Alarmingly, Shoef Mohammed does not have the right to know why an adverse decision was made in his case and he is utterly puzzled, not able to think of any reason for it. His fate might partly depend on a test case being brought against ASIO in the Australian Federal Court this month by three Tamil Sri Lankan refugees who have also had adverse security assessments against them.
Rohingya are not "terrorists." Abuses against Rohingya asylum seekers and refugees are well documented in Burma and countries in the region where they have sought refuge. In Malaysia, refugees recognized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees are routinely detained, caned and deported. In Thailand, boats of Rohingya asylum seekers have been pushed back out to sea, causing death. In Burma, many Rohingya are denied basic rights, including citizenship.
Circumstance like these have pushed more than one hundred refugees to flee Malaysia by boat for Australia. The Rohingya, like scores of other refugees from Burma, are simply seeking peace and security, as is their right under international law. One Rohingya friend told me that he wished he had a prison sentence - then at least he would know his future. It is the uncertainty, he said, that is torturous.
The Australian Government must guarantee the Rohingya refugees their rights and grant their visas promptly. The role of ASIO in Australia's refugee program is shameful and must be reformed so security assessments are quick and transparent. Refugees must have the right to know what they are being charged with, so they can respond.
Ahmed's suicide attempt was the second by a Rohingya detainee in Darwin.
In December 2010, a man attempted to hang himself with a longyi in his cell. He was also was rescued by fellow detainees and subsequently spent a week in hospital with neck injuries.
How many more refugees will be forced to harm themselves before their rights are granted?
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