Photos Of Embarkation Of Nauru Charter

"The Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews needs to explain to Australians whether or not he told the 83 Sri Lankan asylum seekers (who were flown to Nauru Saturday 17 March in the afternoon) in a letter handed to them before embarkation that they could choose Australia as a resettlement country upon approval of their refugee claim or not, and he needs to explain exactly what kind of lawyers he has promised to provide to them while on Nauru," WA Rights group Project SafeCom said this morning.

Advocates have told Project SafeCom (see below) that the 83 Sri Lankans were handed a letter before embarking on the charter flight to Nauru, which told them they could choose Australia or another country as their preferred country of resettlement once their refugee claims had been processed and if it was found that they were refugees.

The letter also guaranteed that they would be provided with lawyers onNauru.

"The Immigration Minister cannot have his media spin both ways," Project SafeCom spokesman said. "He cannot play Mr Hardball in the Australian press, hoping for a handful of votes and some applause from the radical right in the electorate by stating categorically that the Sri Lankans, even when found to be refugees after processing them on Nauru, cannot ever be resettled in Australia, and then hand them out letters, stating that they can choose Australia as their preferred country of settlement."

"Either the Minister is misrepresenting his government's policy status for the Sri Lankans in his letter to them, or he is misrepresenting his government's policy status in statements in the Australian media."

"The Minister has to come clean on this issue. If he wants to attracts supporters for this government policy, he needs to confirm what he tells the Sri Lankans about his plans for them on Nauru."

More photos casn be seen here

ENDS

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