AAP General News (Australia)
08-22-2007
NSW: Villawood rooftop protest enters third day
SYDNEY, Aug 22 AAP - A rooftop protest by three detainees at Villawood detention centre
has entered its third day.
New Zealanders Montana Kelly, 27, and his cousin Bruce Ngaromoa, 32, and 30-year-old
Vietnamese man Van Nguyn climbed onto the roof on Monday night in a protest sparked by
a ban on inmates visiting family outside the centre.
Two of the men say they need surgery after they suffered cuts from razor wire while
getting onto the roof of the western Sydney facility.
A spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews said today centre management would
not force the men to come down, despite their injuries.
"Any injuries they have, they have had since they gained access to the roof," the spokeswoman
said.
"At this stage I'm not aware of these injuries being particularly serious, but it is
hard to know as no-one has had the opportunity to properly examine them.
"The current status is that the men need to agree to voluntarily leave the roof and
come down to the ground."
Around 48 detainees are on a hunger strike demanding the resumption of home visits
and better all-round treatment in the centre.
Ten of them are sleeping outside their rooms on the ground of a basketball court.
Mr Andrews' spokeswoman has said the matters would be addressed once the men came down
from the roof.
AAP sk/jl/jlw
KEYWORD: DETENTION DAYLEAD
2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.
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