Demonstrators Protest over Australia's Asylum Policy

Protesters campaigning against the Australian government's treatment of asylum seekers have breached parliament security for a second day.

    Two protesters abseiled down Parliament House in Canberra, unfurling a banner saying "close the bloody camps now", according to the (BBC). Australia sends asylum seekers who arrive by boat to offshore detention centres in Papua New Guinea and Nauru. 

    The government believes the policy prevents deaths at sea, but critics argue it is inhumane.    On Thursday, 13 more demonstrators held placards in a pond they dyed red to symbolise blood, the BBC reported.

    The protest banners on Thursday called for an end to offshore detention and the controversial policy of boat turnbacks. The demonstration lasted about two hours. The same protest group, Whistleblowers Activists and Citizens Alliance, was responsible for forcing the suspension of parliament for 40 minutes on Wednesday.

    In heated scenes, the group of about 30 demonstrators shouted the detention policy was "separating families" and "killing innocent people"."We are here today because you have become world leaders in cruelty," the protesters said. 

The asylum-seeker policies are supported by both the government and the Labor opposition. The issue has highly polarised public sentiment, with the majority agreeing with the government's position. 
Last month, the Australian government rejected a human rights report comparing its asylum seeker camp on Nauru to an open-air prison, according to the BBC.

Source: QNA