12/11/2003: 
Nauru
Sew Your Lips Together For Freedom
from Agence France Presse
Illegal immigrants on hunger strike to protest their detention by Australian authorities on the South Pacific island of Nauru vowed to continue their action until they won "freedom or death" Thursday.
Nine detainees -- believed to be eight Afghanis and one Pakistani -- began their hunger strike this week at the Australian-supported detention centre.
Four of the men have sewn their lips together to highlight their plight.
More
December 11, 2003 Thursday 3:58 AM Eastern TimeSECTION: International News
LENGTH: 312 words
HEADLINE: Boatpeople vow to continue Australian hunger strike "to the death"
DATELINE: SYDNEY, Dec 11
BODY:
Illegal immigrants on hunger strike to protest their detention by Australian
authorities on the South Pacific island of Nauru vowed to continue their action
until they won "freedom or death" Thursday.
Nine detainees -- believed to be eight Afghanis and one Pakistani -- began
their hunger strike this week at the Australian-supported detention centre.
Four of the men have sewn their lips together to highlight their plight.
A group calling itself Rural Australians for Refugees released an email from
a man at the camp called Chaman Shah Nasiri, who said those on hunger strike had
pledged to continue the protest "until the last drop of blood in our body".
He said they had adopted the slogan "freedom or death".
"It is a peaceful strike against the policy of the Australian government and
the injustice behaviour ... on refugees' cases," he said.
Hundreds of illegal immigrants, including 93 children, are being held on
Nauru as part of the so-called Pacific solution, under which newly arrived
boatpeople were sent offshore to prevent them using Australian courts.
Another group of 22 detainees are also on hunger strike at the Port Hedland
detention centre in Western Australia.
Australia has a policy of mandatory detention for asylum seekers until their
refugee applications have been processed.
The detention camps have been the centre of numerous protests from inmates
and human rights groups but the government insists the measures are needed to
maintain the integrity of Australia's borders.
Asylum seekers at detention centres on the Australian mainland have twice
staged 16-day hunger strikes without apparent health impacts.
An Immigration Department spokesman said the hunger strikes would not
influence government policy and said those involved should return home and "get
on with their lives".
ns/rcw
Australia-immigrants
LOAD-DATE: December 11, 2003
