AUSTRALIA: Nine youths, who are threatening to commit suicide, were moved from Australia's controversial Woomera Detention Centre yesterday. They have extended their deadline to 6 a.m. today.
The four Iraqis and five Afghans are aged between 14 and 17. They threatened that, if not released, they would kill themselves by swallowing poison or jumping from the roofs of outhouses on to razor sharp barbed wire fences in the Woomera complex.
They have asked repeatedly to be placed with Australian foster families until their asylum applications are processed.
The immigration department stopped short last night of saying their demands had been met, but confirmed the teenagers were moved to an undisclosed location.
Initially 15 children, some as young as 12, had joined the Woomera suicide pact but six pulled out.
At the complex last night, 246 detainees remained on hunger strike as the protest entered its 15th day. They want to be released or allowed to return to their country of origin.
More than 60 of them had sewn their lips together but most decided to undo the stitches on Monday. At least two have been hospitalised, while others are reported to be seriously ill.
The Australian government claims it is standing firm on its hardline policy of detaining refugees. The latest development, however, represents the first time since the Tampa crisis last year that the government has agreed to any concessions.
Also yesterday the Immigration Detention Advisory Group suggested Woomera should be closed and used only as a temporary overflow facility in the event of a sudden influx of refugees.
The Immigration Minister, Mr Philip Ruddock, said the proposal would be considered. He also defended the government's decision to suspend processing visa applications for those on hunger strike, even though applications for other inmates of Woomera are being fast-tracked.
AFP adds: The UN refugee agency has expressed concern about the detainees. Mr Kris Janowski, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, also told a news briefing that the Geneva-based agency opposed the detention of asylum-seekers, especially over long periods of time.
Although he described as unacceptable recent acts by some detainees, including children sewing their lips together as part of the ongoing hunger strike, he said the behaviour demonstrated their desperation.
"We are extremely concerned about acts of self-harm committed by refugees; people pushing their children to threaten suicide for example - 11 and 13-year-olds - is totally irresponsible. On the other hand, they show the degree of desperation that these people are in."