Seven refugee rights activists were forced out of Sydney’s Villawood Immigration Detention Centre on October 4. Two days later, another refugee advocate, Rosalie Scolari, was banned from Maribyrnong detention centre in Melbourne.
Private prisons operator Serco runs both detention centres.
Scolari was trying to visit gay Tamil detainee Leela Krishna, who was recently moved from Villawood to Maribyrnong. He has spent more than 12 months imprisoned and a community campaign has called for his immediate release.
Rachel Evans from the Socialist Alliance in Sydney regularly visits Villawood.
“We were congratulating them on their protests”, she told Green Left Weekly. “And talking about Leela Krishna's hunger strike. We'd been there for about 20 minutes when about five guards approached and said we had to leave. 'Clients remain; visitors out', they said.
“We were told that we were not visiting the Tamils for personal reasons (as we ticked on the entry form), and that our questions to them were a breach of security.”
Evans said they were told the federal immigration department had authorised a 24-hour ban on the seven visitors.
“Both the government and Serco are stopping journalists and friends from visiting people in detention. The immigration department authorised it because it doesn't want the truth out about how horrendous mandatory detention is.”
About 100 people rallied outside Maribyrnong detention centre on October 3 to support a hunger strike Krishna had started on October 1.
Police were called to the scene after some protesters shook and caused damage to a fence surrounding the centre. Scolari said she tried to visit Krishna immediately after the rally, but was denied entry.
Scolari returned on October 6. “Despite being told I would be granted access again on the Monday following the rally, when I arrived, reception located my name on a list and informed my that I had been banned for an undisclosed amount of time.”
The day before, an Indonesian man had escaped the Maribyrnong detention centre, the Age said on October 6. He had been detained on September 21 and was going to be deported.
But it remains unclear why Scolari was refused the right to visit Krishna.
“They refused to give an explanation as to why”, she said. “I had not engaged in any criminal activity, all I had done was wave a placard. Leela was on a hunger strike, I just wanted to make sure he was okay. The privatisation of mandatory detention is promoting secrecy and a lack of accountability.”
Tamil community activist Aran Mylvaganam was also denied access to Krishna on October 6.
Scolari said Serco confirmed that anyone associated with the Refugee Action Collective (RAC) had been listed as banned. Everyone who said they were attending the October 3 protest on Facebook was also black-listed. Staff at Maribyrnong refused to answer Green Left Weekly's questions, but said a police investigation was ongoing.
Visits to Villawood have shed light on the situation for refugees in the Australian detention system. Visitors have met one Tamil who has been held for 16 months. He already has refugee status, but must await a “security check”.
Evans said that, based on allegations made by the Sri Lankan dictatorship, “Tamils have been tarred with the terrorist brush and are suffering as a result”.
Scolari planned to write a letter detailing the situation to the immigration department, Serco and national refugee rights networks. Melbourne RAC and other refugee activists planned to visit Maribyrnong over the weekend and demand the right to visit refugees inside.
Evans said that visiting Villawood again and resisting attempts by Serco to enforce a ban is vital.
She said being able to speak to refugees helped expose government lies about the safety of refugees’ home countries.
“The Tamils told us that, in 2007, 11 people were deported from Christmas Island back to Sri Lanka”, she said. “Three are in prison, and the other eight have disappeared and are presumed dead. In 2009, another three were deported and they are in prison.
“This is verified by Amnesty International, but the Australian immigration department says it is safe to return!”
Immigration minister Chris Bowen announced the ban on asylum claims for Afghans was lifted on October 1. He said the decision was based on information received from the Australian embassy in Kabul.
Despite claims that refugee cases were judged on a “case by case” basis, Bowen said that more asylum claims from Afghanistan would be rejected, and the refugees deported.
But the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has not changed its assessment of the situation in Afghanistan. UNHCR regional representative Richard Towle told ABC radio’s AM that security was not improving and some areas were still “extraordinarily dangerous”.
This year has recorded the highest number of deaths, for both Afghan civilians and foreign soldiers. Towle is presently touring Australia’s detention centres as part of a UN inspection.