At 12:30pm today student refugee activists began a snap protest at Immigration Minister Chris Bowen’s electoral office demanding that he act now to save the life of Omid Sorousheh, the Iranian hunger striker on Nauru now on his 49th day of hunger strike.
“We are here because we think Chris Bowen has a moral responsibility to act now to save a life. Omid and all the other asylum seekers on Nauru must be brought to Australia now,” said Clare Fester, spokesperson for the Sydney Uni Anti-Racism Collective.
“Is Bowen truly prepared to sacrifice a human life for the sake of political point-scoring? The Pacific Solution is already a shambles, and a humanitarian crisis of Labor’s making is now unfolding on Nauru,” she continued.
“Comments from Bowen reported in the Sydney Morning Herald indicate that his pride is more important than Omid’s life – this from the Minister who said he wanted to save lives at sea.
“Labor is plumbing new depths with this callous disregard for human life. No asylum seeker that was Australia’s responsibility has ever been left to die on hunger strike ever before, not even in the darkest days of the Howard era. We are here in Bowen’s office to say we cannot let this happen in our name.
“We can only imagine the hell that Omid is going through. His determination to hunger strike until death, to undertake such a desperate resistance and plea for help, shows how intolerable the conditions on Nauru are.
“Bowen must drop the charade that Australia is not responsible for processing these asylum seekers’ claims. They must be brought to Australia now and Nauru must be closed,” Clare concluded.
Contact Clare Fester on 0415 821 485 or Marijke Hoving on 0452 192 659 from the Sydney Uni Anti-Racism Collective for more comment
Two arrested at refugee protest at immigration minister’s office
Two student protesters were arrested at around 1.45 pm today at a pro-refugee protest outside Immigration Minister Chris Bowen’s electoral office.
The protest which began around 12.30pm, was demanding that the Minister act immediately to save the life of Omid Sorousheh, the Iranian hunger striker on Nauru now on his 49th day of hunger strike, and that the Nauru detention camp be closed.
The protesters have been transported to Fairfield police station, where police indicate they will be charged.
