8 Nov 2017

100 days of protest on Manus Island

3:44 pm on 8 November 2017

Manus Island refugees say they will continue to defy eviction from the detention centre despite the Supreme Court's decision not to injunct the disconnection of essential services.

Daily protest 99, 7-11-17

Daily protest 99, 7-11-17 Photo: Supplied

Without water, catering, power and medical services, about 600 men are occupying the decommissioned centre, where they have been interned by Australia since 2013.

The centre was closed on October 31 when companies providing services walked away from their contracts with the Australian government, following sustained public pressure.

The court found the services were available for the refugees at up to three alternative sites in the island's main town, but the refugees say they will not swap one prison for another.

In 2016, the same court decided their detention was unconstitutional, but the ruling only led to the men being allowed into the island's small community of 7000 Manusians, with some of whom there was violent conflict.

Others have tried to bring food to the men holed up in the centre on the island's naval base, but a blockade of those supplies has been imposed.

In a video made by refugees during their daily protest yesterday, English speaking spokesmen Behrouz Boochani and Abdul Aziz Adam said they would not surrender and asked the international community to intervene.

Today's daily protest will be the 100th since August, in a sequence only interrupted by the deaths of refugees Hamed Shamshiripour and Rajeev Rajendran.

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