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Papua New Guinea Demands Australia Remove Refugees

Phil Mercer

   SYDNEY - Papua New Guinea's new prime minister, James Marape, has
   called on Australia Friday to set a deadline for relocating several
   hundred refugees and asylum-seekers who have been stranded in his
   country since the closure of a migrant camp.

   The Manus Island detention center closed in October 2017 after judges
   in Papua New Guinea said it was unconstitutional. About 450 former
   detainees remain on the island in community housing or in the capital,
   Port Moresby. Most are refugees who have been told by the government in
   Canberra that as part of uncompromising border polices they will never
   been allowed to be resettled in Australia. Few have any desire to stay
   in Papua New Guinea, but their presence in the impoverished country is
   putting pressure on health services and fueling tensions with local
   residents.

   Papua New Guinea's prime minister, James Marape, wants senior
   Australian ministers to set a timetable for the men to be removed.

   "I have met immigration minister Peter Dutton already," said Marape. "I
   have asked him to expedite the process of phasing out the issues of
   asylum seekers. We need to establish a timeline going forward and there
   are genuine refugees and there are also non-genuine refugees. What
   happens to the rest of them we have in-country? These are human beings
   we are dealing with. We can't leave them all hanging in space with no
   serious consideration to their future."

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