Australian police move to quell refugee rampage

ADELAIDE, Australia (Reuters) -- Police fired tear gas into Australia's largest illegal immigrants' detention center on Monday after a group of about 80 asylum seekers rioted and set fire to buildings.

Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock said fences at the detention center had been breached and the detainees were using pickets from the fences as weapons.

No escapes or injuries were reported. Police reinforcements were on their way to the remote Woomera detention center near a former British rocket testing range in the outback of South Australia state, Ruddock said.

The rampage followed a weekend of mostly peaceful protests at five of the country's six detention centers, Ruddock said.

But the protests against deportation from Australia escalated into violence at Woomera.

"This morning...some 70 to 80 detainees set fire to two recreational buildings, the dining room and an ablution block," Ruddock told reporters.

"They have been stoning the administration building. Quite serious damage has been occasioned."

Ruddock said additional staff and South Australia police were on their way to reinforce the several hundred staff employed at Woomera, 475 km (295 miles) north of Adelaide, which houses about 1,400 illegal immigrants, mainly from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Australia automatically detains illegal entrants until their cases are reviewed, a process which can take months.

Ruddock said the violence at Woomera appeared to be led by some people who had been refused refugee status and were being held until their removal from Australia.

"These events started when people were endeavoring to place pressure on us in relation to those matters. We will not succumb to any pressure in relation to people who have no entitlement to be released into the Australian community," Ruddock said.

Over the past two years Australia has seen a dramatic rise in the number of illegal immigrants arriving by boat, particularly from the Middle East. A large part of the increase has been attributed to criminal gangs of people smugglers.

Government figures show almost 7,900 unauthorized people arrived in Australia by boat in 1998/1999, mostly from China and the Middle East.

This has left the country's six detention centers, which have the capacity to house 3,600 illegal immigrants, full to overflowing and resulted in regular protests.

Conditions at the centers came under the spotlight in June when more than 650 men, women and children broke out of camps at Woomera and Curtin in Western Australia state.

The other five centers were reported quiet on Monday.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Green protesters make mark on Sydney Olympics
August 22, 2000

HW Immigration Australia

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.