Are asylum seekers being processed on Manus?

[donnashuggy]

Or are they being told there is no hope regardless of their circumstances.

[donnashuggy]

Where did you come from Erica?

[boris1gary]

donna, you have probably already read this but anyway, little excerpt below:

First Phillip Ruddock, then Peter Reith and now Scott Morrison have mastered the trick - create a moral panic complete with four-star generals, dehumanise the asylum seekers and keep the facts out of the argument.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-26/lewis-and-woods-playing-the-wimp-card-a-tactical-move/5284276

[donnashuggy]

Didn't Peter Reith involve himself on the 'go back to where you come from'?

They are all playing diversionary tactics I think, and the more that conroy refuses to apologise and ask the government to apologise the better (I think)

[freakiness · Accepted solution]

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@colic2bullsgirlore wrote:

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@freakiness wrote:

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@lakeland27 wrote:

yes freaky, that was wierd

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I heard someone ask for a sexist remark to be withdrawn. She ignored that and went on to say she heard someone else call out madam asbestos so dealt with that instead.

I think she's past her use by date and should have retired already.

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Speaker Of The House...... SOTH....... Sad Old Tyrannous Hag

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they probably asked for this

[donnashuggy]

ha ha, hope you don't get in trouble freaki

nite everyone!

[lind9650]

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@donnashuggy wrote:

Where did you come from Erica?

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Romania

Erica

[colic2bullsgirlore]

The cracks are getting bigger

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/02/25/i-was-told-lie-manus-island-staffer

Liz Thompson, a former migration agent turned whistleblower, has described the administration of the Manus Island detention centre as 'ridiculous' and claims she was instructed to tell detainees their only option was resettlement in Papua New Guinea.

“They (detainees) watch the news, they read the newspapers, they watch what’s going around in the camp, they know there’s no decision from the Papua New Guinean Government on resettlement," she told Dateline's Mark Davis.

"So what that means is… you’re never getting out of this camp, it’s indefinite detention."

A spokeswoman for the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Scott Morrison, denied that Manus Island detainees had been told they would not be resettled in PNG. 

“With regard to reports that the transferees were advised that they will not be settled in PNG, the Minister has been advised that those reports are false," she said in a statement.

"It's not designed as a processing facility, it's designed as an experiment in the active creation of horror to deter people from trying in the first place."

Ms Thompson told Dateline she was given a script to follow while conducting refugee assessments.

"We were informed that we were not to discuss resettlement, we were not to discuss third country options,"

she said.

"It was made very clear to us every day, sometimes even twice a day, under the threat of being removed from the island, we were not to talk about a third country, we were not to suggest there were any resettlement options, we were not to suggest they would be able to get off PNG,"

she said.

[icyfroth]

Oh you mean Red Liz Thompson?

[colic2bullsgirlore]

That's the one.... icy (ostrich) froth

https://www.facebook.com/WhereIsMyOstrich

[colic2bullsgirlore]

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/comment/manus-island-how-information-is-kept-under-control-20140225-...

Within hours of arriving, staff from G4S, the private security company employed by the Australian Government to manage the centre, had manhandled Nick, confiscated his camera and forced him to delete photographs in order to censor news.

This occurred after Nick and I visited the island's hospital more than 14 kilometres from the detention centre and supposedly under the jurisdiction of the PNG Government.

We had gone to the hospital in order to check if appropriate procedures were being taken in relation to secure the body of Reza Berati.

hey appeared happy to be photographed but as soon as Nick started taking shots, the G4S staff pushed Nick up against a car and took his camera.

They refused to return it despite being asked to do so by an Australian G4S employee. They also said we could not leave and had to remain at the hospital until we spoke to their boss, who would attend shortly.

When their boss, a PNG national, arrived, he yelled at Nick, telling him that he should not be taking photos. He only agreed to hand back the camera after Nick had deleted the photographs in front of him – something he did quickly and we left

.

Nick was later able to recover the photographs, which were published.

Later, reports surfaced that Nick had been arrested and detained. This was plainly wrong, as it is the police who have the powers to arrest and detain – not Australian taxpayer funded private security companies - or so you would think.

The next day I was the only member of the media present when the Australian Government's riot investigator, Lieutenant-General Angus Campbell, arrived to see the cage that doubles as a jail cell at the Manus Island Police station - the same building where six asylum seekers were locked up with alleged murderers and rapists after the riots.

This time it wasn't a security guard but an Australian taxpayer-funded Immigration Department official who intervened.

As Lt-Gen Campbell and the local police commander moved to inspect the cage, the Australian Immigration official physically tried to block me from entering the space to photograph and observe the visit.

Realising that I was ignoring him, the official scuttled over to the police commander and said words to the effect that I should not be allowed to take photos.

The police commander seized my camera and phone. Later, as I waited for their return, he physically prevented me from writing in my laptop.

(It should be noted that Lt Gen Campbell approached me and said he had nothing to do with the seizure of the equipment but nor did he arrange its  return).

While all this poses something of a nuisance for Australian journalists and did not involve any severe physical violence, it represents a highly disturbing trend of censorship in a delicately poised third world country.