Per la libertà di movimento, per i diritti di cittadinanza

Escape from Woomera

This is what BBC news tells of the fact:

Immigration authorities have said guards were attacked and injured in the break-out.
It is claimed the escape was organised by a group of activists wearing balaclavas. The group tore down part of a perimeter fence at the remote desert facility before disappearing with the asylum seekers.
Australian police said this was a well-planned escape.
It is believed two groups travelling in separate vehicles helped the detainees break through security fences in the middle of the night.

Hunt under way

The Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock said two guards were hurt.
One was hit about the legs with a tyre lever, while another was struck in the chest.
Six asylum seekers are now on the run. Roadblocks have been set up on the Stuart highway, which links Port Augusta to the south and Coober Pedy to the north.
Woomera is a former missile testing base and lies in the heart of the South Australian desert.

Harsh conditions

There is speculation the fugitives may have gone off the main roads to evade capture and are attempting to negotiate rugged terrain in extremely hot summer temperatures.
Senior police officers have expressed grave concerns that the group may not be equipped to survive the harsh desert conditions.
The Immigration Department has said the detainees were from Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq.
The detention centre at Woomera has been in use since 1999.
It has a turbulent history, one peppered with mass escapes, riots and hunger strikes carried out in protest at Australia’s mandatory detention of asylum seekers.
The government defends its policy of detaining asylum seekers on health and security grounds.
The camp at Woomera is slowly being decommissioned.
Many of its detainees have been transferred to the new Baxter facility near Port Augusta, 300 kilometres north of Adelaide, where many are facing deportation.

In addition to this, yesterday early in the morning a Melbourne indymedia member was handed a video statement proportedly made by those who assisted with Sunday night breakout. The video showed a tight shot of a masked face reading the statement. All the audio is available.
Here is the message.
“…this latest mistreatment of refugees, especially since the fires late last year, has worried and alarmed many good hearted Australian citizens. The physical and psychological abuses that has been occurring in these detention centres has led ordinary Australians, like us, to take extreme measures. These abuses are in total breach of any international law and regulations in regard to the abuse of human rights. Millions of people around the world know of the abhorrence of the Australian Immigration policy and this has led many people just like us to to undertake desperate measures. We are now calling on the Australian community to support our action and condemn the Howard government.
Abuse of refugees inside the centres includes physical and emotional abuse of the detainees causing permanent damage to their bodies and minds of men, women, and yes, children.
Anyone who condones this brutality is Unaustralinan. The iron fisted approach of the Australian govt to oppress public opinion on this issue will not succeed in preventing future actions such as this latest breakout. People that believe Ruddock’s rhetoric regarding false claims by detainees need to look at international procedure which determine who is a genuine asylum seeker. The perverting of the justice system in this country which prevents court appeals highlights the unlawfulness of the Australian government’s decision making process.
Take a look at the 1951 UN refugee convention; the men women and children in these centres are not criminals. They do not deserve to be locked up.”

The abuses they face in these centres is sometimes worse than in the countries they have come from. People just like me and people inside these centres cannot stand this treatment any longer. We will not tolerate it. There are international laws that are in place to fight for these peoples’ rights. The Australian govt has chosen to ignore this and we are choosing to ignore the Australian government’s law.”