Hundreds of Australian rights activists and refugee advocates have rallied outside Sydney™s Town Hall to support the rights of asylum-seekers.
The angry protesters slammed the new government™s controversial policies aimed at stopping migrant boats from arriving on Australian shores.
The pro-asylum activists chanted slogans and delivered speeches against the government’s new harsh plan on refugees.
The wave of protests come as Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has vowed to make good on his campaign pledges including tougher immigration policies in dealing with refugees and asylum-seekers.
Abbot™s policies include giving only temporary visas to refugees, and blocking appeal rights for failed asylum claims.
Under the new policy, those who pay human smugglers to take them to Australia on illegal boats will be sent to Papua New Guinea.
Abbott has also paid his first overseas visit to Indonesia to meet President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and seek support for his plan on asylum-seeker boats.
The radical immigration policy, however, does not seem to be working as hundreds of refugees have arrived since the directive was issued.
Australia has become a desired destination for Asian immigrants who are seeking a better life. But over the years, hundreds of them have lost their lives because their overcrowded boats were capsized in rough waters.
On Saturday, at least 21 people drowned after a boat carrying migrants to Australia sank off the Indonesian coast.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has recently expressed concern about Australia™s decision to send asylum-seekers arriving by boat to Papua New Guinea.
The agency has said that it was œtroubled by the current absence of adequate protection standards and safeguards for asylum-seekers and refugees in Papua New Guinea.”
JR/PR/SS
Copyright: Press TV