A group of over 200 refugees at the Woomera Detention Centre in South Australia yesterday agreed to end a 15-day hunger strike. The protest ended after the Australian government gave the hunger strikers assurances it would speed up the processing of visa applications for all refugees being detained in six centres around the country.
The breakthrough in the crisis came yesterday afternoon after a delegation from the government's Independent Detention Advisory Group (IDAG) visited the hunger strikers at Woomera, over 60 of who had sewn their lips together.
The Australian Immigration Minister, Mr Philip Ruddock said he had passed on assurances to the detainees about processing their refugee claims and that the group had decided to accept those assurances.
"There were staff there today to commence that processing, and it will occur at each of the other detention centres . . . where other asylum-seekers are held," he said.
He insisted the detainees involved in the hunger strike would not be disadvantaged by their actions. Some of those who had refused food have been in Woomera almost two years waiting for their asylum applications to be processed and wanted to be released into Australian society or allowed to return to their country of origin.
The hunger strike at Woomera was just one strand of a multi-faceted approach adopted by hundreds of detained refugees during two weeks of protests. A group of unaccompanied minors this week threatened to commit suicide en masse if they were not placed in foster care pending the processing of their visas.
For the last fortnight the government has stood by its tough detention policy despite the protests but yesterday the Treasurer, Mr Peter Costello, confirmed Woomera may be shut following an IDAG submission to the government recommending the controversial centre only be used as an overflow facility for asylum-seekers.
But the compulsory detention of new arrivals looks set to continue after new figures released here yesterday confirmed Australia's tough stance on the issue has begun to deter boat people from making the dangerous crossing from Indonesia in often unseaworthy vessels.
No boat people were picked up in Australian waters in December or during January, compared with more than 700 arrivals in December 2000.