Curtin hunger strike numbers questioned

Refugee advocates say hundreds of detainees at the Curtin Detention Centre are
hunger striking to protest processing delays, but the Immigration Department says
only 20 to 30 are.
The advocates also say two men have tried to kill themselves at the remote facility
near Derby in Western Australia's Kimberley region.
But the department has refused to comment on whether asylum seekers have attempted
self-harm during the protest that started on Monday.
Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul said on Wednesday that about 300
Afghan asylum seekers stayed overnight in a compound outside the immigration offices
inside the centre.
He said hundreds of other detainees were boycotting the mess hall and staying in
their rooms at the centre, which currently holds 1150 asylum seekers.
"There's 1000 people still involved in the protest in some capacity."
Mr Rintoul said a detainee had called to say one man had tried to hang himself and
was taken by ambulance to Derby Hospital at 7am (WST) on Wednesday.
The incident followed an earlier reported suicide attempt by a detainee at the
centre on Monday.
But an Immigration Department spokesman on Wednesday refused to confirm or deny if
any detainees had tried to self-harm.
Senior Sergeant Mike Wells of Derby police said officers were monitoring the centre
during the protest and he knew of no one being sent to Derby Hospital.
The immigration spokesman said the facility remained calm, and only a small group
remained on hunger strike.
"A small number of detainees, about 20 to 30, have told the department they are
engaging in voluntary starvation."
The spokesman said more than 400 detainees attended the evening meal on Tuesday but
the low turnout did not mean many hundreds were on hunger strike, as other available
food had been taken.
Mr Rintoul said the protesters continued to demand that immigration officials come
to Curtin to explain lengthy delays in their processing and the reason so many
Afghan asylum applications were being rejected.
He said the protesters banners on sheets, pillow cases and white boards said,
Protection Not Detention, Stop Playing with our Lives and Where are our Human
Rights?
On Monday, Immigration Minister Chris Bowen announced Australia had signed a
landmark deal with Afghanistan under which Afghans whose asylum claims have failed
will be sent home.