MELBOURNE, Australia (AA) – Papua New Guinea’s prime minister announced Wednesday that his government will close an asylum seeker detention center it hosts for Australia after the Pacific nation’s Supreme Court ruled it illegal.
Peter O’Neill said in a statement that his government “will immediately ask the Australian Government to make alternative arrangements for the asylum seekers” on Manus Island.
Under its immigration policy, Australia detains asylum seekers arriving by boat, referred to as “illegals” by the Federal Government, on Manus and the island nation of Nauru, where conditions have been described as appalling by rights advocates.
On Tuesday, PNG’s Supreme Court ordered that the governments of Australia and Papua New Guinea immediately undertake measures to cease detentions on Manus, where 850 men are being held — around half of whom have been accepted as refugees.
“For those that have been deemed to be legitimate refugees, we invite them to live in Papua New Guinea only if they want to be a part of our society and make a contribution to our community,” O’Neill said Wednesday.
“It is clear that several of these refugees do not want to settle in Papua New Guinea and that is their decision,” he added.
Without providing details about what measures would be taken, the premier underlined that his government would discuss with their Australian counterparts a timeline for closing the Manus detention facility.
“We did not anticipate the asylum seekers to be kept as long as they have at the Manus Center,” he said.
