Four arrested after Bowen office protest

SYDNEY (AAP) Three women have been charged over a rooftop protest at the Sydney office of Federal Immigration Minister Chris Bowen, as the national debate over the treatment of asylum seekers continues.
The women, who were claiming solidarity with detainees at the Sydney's Villawood Detention Centre following a riot there last week, began their action at the electorate office in western Sydney at 8.30am (AEST) on Friday.
The protesters allegedly climbed onto the roof of the Fairfield building, attracting the attention of Police Rescue and the Public Order and Riot Squad officers.
About three hours later, they were removed "without incident" and taken to Fairfield police station before being charged with resist arrest and remain on enclosed land.
Police later on Friday maintained a presence in the area, amid continuing outrage from refugee and detainee supporter groups at the government's stance on the detention issue and as a rooftop protest at Villawood by three detainees entered its tenth day.
Majid Parhizkar, 24, from Iran, and stateless Kurdish men Mehdi Darabi, 24 and Amir Morad, 22, have been on a roof at the southwest Sydney facility since April 20, when an ensuing riot left nine buildings gutted by fire.
At issue is Mr Bowen's announcement earlier this week that the government will toughen laws to deter violent behaviour at detention centres.
The changes mean anyone convicted of criminal conduct while in immigration detention will automatically be denied a protection visa under character test rules.
At the Fairfield protest on Friday, supporters held banners reading "we would too", referring to the three Villawood detainees who remain on a building roof.
The Cross Border Collective, a Sydney-based group that says it is "committed to the unconditional release of all those incarcerated in immigration detention, and the destruction of the detention centres", demanded the government release detainees into the community while their visas and asylum applications are processed.
"Detainees are absolutely right to take to the roof in protest against the brutal and racist detention regime, so we took to the roof too," it said a statement.
"Chris Bowen's decision to treat these people like they've done something wrong is a disgrace, and we want to show him, the ALP and the opposition that the community will not tolerate it."
The action of the protesting women at Mr Bowen's office sparked heated debate on the surrounding footpaths.
A spokesman from the International Federation of Iranian Refugees, Arsalan Nazeri, cried "Free, free refugees" through a megaphone.
"The police want me not to make too much noise, but Australia has been locking up refugees for year and years and years," Mr Nazeri said.
Opponents countered with chants of "Free Australia" and "Go back to your own country".
"If you hate it here so much why don't you go back to your own country," shouted one onlooker, who declined to be named.
Others called on police to "push" or "taser" the protesters off the roof.
In the end, up to 30 officers from NSW Police Rescue, Public Order Riot Squad, NSW Fire and Rescue and the NSW Ambulance Service were involved in removing the protesters.
"We started to negotiate with the three people, but didn't come to any successful conclusions, so we approached closer using safety ropes and ladders," Superintendent Peter Lennon told reporters.
"I would call it dangerous ... but we just had to do what we had to do."
The women charged were on Friday granted conditional bail to appear at Fairfield Local Court on May 16.
A man protesting outside the building was held for breaching the peace but was released with a warning.
Meanwhile, Villawood was relatively quiet on Friday.
Authorities had set up three multi-storey floodlights aimed at the roof where the three detainees have been.