Refugee video sinks PR offensive

Politicians seeking support for tough refugee policies are losing the propaganda battle abroad, GREG ANSLEY reports.

CANBERRA - A leaked video showing distraught asylum seekers beating themselves insensible has damaged Australia's bid for understanding and support in Europe.

The video's release coincided with a standoff with an armed group at the Curtin Detention Centre in the remote Outback.

Both have the potential to seriously undermine Canberra's planned bid for a temporary seat on the United Nations Security Council.

A UN human rights team plans to visit the troubled Woomera Detention Centre next month, and through new powers under the International Convention Against Torture gained this week will be able to make spot inspections without notice.

The repercussions have already been felt in London by Australian Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock, whose trip to gain European support has run into heavy criticism from the media.

A speech he gave to the Commonwealth Lawyers Association coincided with reports of the Curtin standoff, now into its sixth day, and the video footage aired on the ABCs Lateline programme on Monday night.

The video, made for internal use by Australian Correctional Management, the private company that runsthe detention centres, showed dramatic events at Curtin last year after Afghan asylum seekers were told their applications for refugee status had failed.

With guards in riot gear outside their cells, detainees are shown hurling themselves against bars and walls, two knocking themselves unconscious and another suffering cuts that covered his face in blood.

One threatened suicide - "In the name of God I will kill myself ... Why am I here?" - as others, believing one of the unconscious men to be dead, began pounding his chest.

One of the unconscious men was dragged by his heels for a short distance before being left to lie for some time without medical help.

Justice Minister Chris Ellison said medical staff had been prevented from treating the injured by other detainees. Any claim of inadequate medical attention made on the basis of the video was unfair.

Prime Minister John Howard also unequivocally backed management and guards, saying he strongly supported the policy of mandatory detention and would not criticise their handling of events at Curtin.

"I know [the asylum seekers] don't like being in detention centres, but without sounding in any way insensitive - I hope - if people did not seek to come to Australia illegally they would not be in detention."

In London, Ruddock disclosed that Australia had joined the United States in a plan to discourage refugees from aiming for particular countries. The US will send its Cubans and Haitians to Australia, and asylum-seekers landing in Australia will be sent to the US.

But Ruddock largely failed to convince influential Britons that Australia's policy of mandatory detention was both humane and necessary to ensure a home for genuine refugees whose urgent need had already been accepted.

The policy was labelled draconian by the British media, challenged by leading lawyers, and described as a policy needing "a lot of forceful defence", although Australia has one of the highest intakes of refugees per head in the world.

Elsewhere, as Australia's bid for a Security Council seat begins to gather pace, Greens Senator Bob Brown said the Curtin video further demonstrated how Australia's name was being dragged through the mire by the Howard Government.

At the Curtin centre, negotiations were last night continuing with a small group of detainees who refused to surrender after Friday's riot, but most others had ended their defiance and handed in weapons including spikes, knives, tools and home-made spears.

Several detainees at the Port Hedland camp, about 600km southwest of Curtin, damaged facilities with broken off fence supports during a protest late on Monday.

They also lit a small fire which was contained, an immigration spokesman said.