Papua New Guinea locals call for Manus Island centre to stay open
AS debate rages and Peter Dutton is attacked, locals in villages near the shutdown detention centre on Manus Island have demanded the asylum seekers stay.
National
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RESIDENTS in villages near the shut down detention centre on Manus Island have demanded the asylum seekers barricaded inside be allowed to stay.
The call came as Papua New Guinea authorities cracked down on food supplies being brought into the centre and reportedly for the first time started stopping asylum seekers from entering and leaving the Naval Base where it is sited.
Locals at Nutt Point, many of whom were employed within the centre before it closed, spoke out yesterday about the closure saying they had a good relationship with the asylum seekers and did not share the same concerns being expressed by some other Manusians if they stayed in their district.
The asylum seekers have been told they have to move to several sites on the outskirts of island’s main town of Lorengau.
But the men have refused to move to the alternative centre citing concerns for their personal security and suspected hostile attitudes from Lorengau residents.
The asylum seekers, who the department says number about 587, yesterday remained barricaded in the closed detention centre which is within the grounds of the Lombrum Naval Base about 20 minutes drive east of Lorengau.
MORE: Peter Dutton called a ‘terrorist’ by another MP
Locals in and around the base have been helping the asylum seekers, frustrating Australian and Papua New Guinea authorities efforts to force the group to leave by cutting off power and water and food to the detention centre.
The centre had provided employment for at least 200 people from villages around the district including the Nutt Point community that adjoins the Lombrum Naval Base.
Yesterday community spokeswoman Marsina Peter who worked as an English teacher at the centre said: “We are happy to have them here. The asylum seeker have experience living here with us in Los Negros.
“They (the Australian Government) should leave them (the refugees) here where they are protected by the Defence Force and get on with the locals and also provide the locals with jobs.
“The locals here don’t feel good about it (the way the asylum seekers) are being treated.”
Ms Peter said resettling the refugees over near Lorengau would just cause problems.
She said about 60 people from her district had lost their jobs when the centre closed, something that has obviously frustrated the community.
She said many had built good relationships with the asylum seekers during their work in the centre.
Residents in and around Lorengau, especially in the Ward 1 district where one of the alternative sites is still being completed, have expressed concern about the social issues the refugees will bring.
And refugees already living in or close to Lorengau say they have concerns about their safety.
They report constant abuse and theft of their personal belongings if they are walking the streets of Lorengau.
Yesterday at the detention centre PNG authorities had stepped up patrols. Police cars could be seen patrolling the boundaries and monitoring the beach at the rear of the centre where locals had been doing food drops via boat.
One asylum seeker in Lorengau said he had left the centre yesterday to get food but feared he would be unable to get back inside as he had been told police and military were now stopping vehicles entering and leaving the naval base and turning back refugees.
He said he had been threatened while staying in the town overnight.
Asylum seeker advocates have also said a boat carrying $500 worth of food had been stopped, the food confiscated and the boat operators, local men, arrested and jailed.
The crackdown came as the PNG Defence Force Brigadier-General Gilbert Toropo was quoted in local media as saying he had told the commander of the naval base to prevent any civilians from leaving or entering.
The Australian Immigration Department earlier this week rejected claims safety would be an issue for any asylum seekers who move to the new accommodation.
A spokesman said security services were in place at the alternative accommodation sites.
The spokesman said: “Non-residents are not permitted to enter the PNG-operated facilities and there are a number of rules to enhance safety, and privacy of residents”.
He said the PNG police had recently increased its presence in PNG’s Manus province.
“All previous residents have been advised of this and that they can call on the RPNG (police) for assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week,’’ he said.
The detention centre was ordered closed after a PNG Court ruled it was illegal and unconstitutional.