Nearly 450 academics and staff from the University of Sydney have signed an open letter to the people of Australia, urging a campaign of public pressure on the government to stop the “abuse and torture” of asylum seekers and refugees on Manus Island and Nauru.
The letter comes as new allegations of rape and assault continue to emerge from within the offshore detention centre regime and from inside detention centres on Australian soil.
The letter says allegations of torture and general mistreatment have plagued the Australian-run offshore and onshore detention centres for years.
“Initially, perhaps, such allegations were dismissed by Australian citizens, in disbelief that such repugnant acts could be committed by a society that perceives itself to be just and humane.
“The mounting evidence, however, of torture and abuse – including testimonies given by refugees themselves, as well as evidence submitted by former employees and contractors who worked in the detention centres – is overwhelming.”
The university staff also condemned as “abhorrent” the Border Force Act 2015, which carries a prison sentence of up to two years for publicly disclosing conditions or treatment of asylum seekers inside the Nauru and Manus detention centres.
There is no national security rationale to justify gagging whistleblowers in immigration detention, the letter says.
“We are deeply distressed at the erosion of our society’s democratic ethos and of its core freedoms that such legislation represents.”
The prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, said this week allegations of rape on Nauru were “very alarming”, but the government was “taking a number of steps to work closely with the Nauru government to ensure the safety and the security of all the refugees living in that community.”
“The whole government is very committed to ensuring that women – that all of the transferees and refugees, but in this context women and children – are absolutely safe in that environment.”
Turnbull conceded that the offshore detention regime was “harsh”, but said it was effective in stopping drownings at sea.
“The one thing we know is these policies, tough though they are, harsh though they are in many respects, actually do work, they save lives,” he said.
But the Sydney University letter – signed by 375 academics and 70 management and administrative staff – said the government could not idly accept the torture of people under its care, which “stands in contradiction to … ‘Australian values’”.
The letter calls on the Australian public to demand change from the government.
“This letter represents an expression of deep concern, as well as a call to action – to each person as he or she is able and sees fit – to demand of members of the Australian parliament decisive intervention on this matter.
“The issue of Australia’s treatment of refugees constitutes a crucial test of the moral mettle of our society and the Australian spirit in general.”
