Media Release: Refugee campaigners to demand Labor axe the “Malaysian solution.

Refugee Advocates are to demand that the Labor government axe the “Malaysian solution” with a protest outside Labor Party Headquarters in Melbourne from 1pm Friday 10th. 360 King Street, West Melbourne. Refugee Action Collective (Victoria) condemns the Labor government’s policy to ship asylum seekers to Malaysia. It is not a solution for refugees fleeing war and persecution. It is a return to the dark days of John Howard and offshore processing.

It is not a crime to seek asylum. It is not a crime to seek asylum by boat. International law states that an asylum seeker should not be penalised for the method by which they seek asylum.

“Bowen’s claim that we are forgetting refugees in camps is false,” said Refugee Action Collective spokesperson, Benjamin Solah, “We should be accepting both boat arrivals and taking in refugees from camps, not one or the other.”

Arrivals by boat should not affect the quota of refugees that Australia accepts from these camps. The Australian government resettles very few refugees from Indonesia and Malaysia. This quota should be lifted substantially.

We are disturbed by reports that refugees in Malaysia are caned and tortured, left to rot for decades in a so-called ‘queue’ that never gets shorter. We are also disturbed by the conditions in detention centres in Australia where refugees are driven to suicide and self-harm.

We call on the Australian government to let all refugees into Australia, process them on Australian shores, out of detention centres and in the community. We urge Labor party members to reject their party’s policy of persecuting refugees and asylum seekers.