Tamil asylum seekers who rallied in Melbourne, Australia, earlier this week to mark 100 days of continuous protests to demand permanent visa protection were disrupted by a group of neo-Nazis.
Tamil asylum seekers have been camped outside the Department Home Affairs since July 15, to call on the Australian government to grant them permanent visas. Many of the protesters have been on short term visas for over a decade.
All photographs were taken by Mark Hrkac
Tamil asylum seekers who rallied in Melbourne, Australia, earlier this week to mark 100 days of continuous protests to demand permanent visa protection were disrupted by a group of neo-Nazis.
Tamil asylum seekers have been camped outside the Department Home Affairs since July 15, to call on the Australian government to grant them permanent visas. Many of the protesters have been on short term visas for over a decade.
Without permanent residency, asylum seekers do not have access to Medicare - Australia’s universal health insurance scheme, they do not have the right to work or study nor the right to travel.
At the rally on Tuesday, a group of 20 neo-Nazis arrived and reportedly chanted white supremacist slogans and displayed an offensive banner. Australian police officers used pepper spray in an attempt to disperse the protesters.
Tamil Refugee Council member Aran Mylvaganam told ABC News that the police sprayed one of the speakers at the rally.
"I spoke with our marshalling team, and the information I received is that the police pepper-sprayed our group well before they took any action against the neo-Nazis," Mylvaganam said.
“[The neo-Nazis] were pepper sprayed, but they were allowed to continue with their march after that," he added.
Despite the disruption, the rally continued through Melbourne with protesters demanding an end to the visa limbo that thousands of asylum seekers are facing.
Speaking at the rally, Rathy Barthlote, the co-founder of Refugee Women Action for Visa Equality said:
“If the Labour government had provided a solution 12 years ago, we would not be facing this uncertainty today. In 2022, the Labour government called the fast-track process unjust and promised to end it, giving us hope. But two years have passed, and 9,500 of us are still waiting for a resolution, living with daily insecurity. We hoped for a solution, but it never came. We have protested in many ways, yet our voices have been ignored.”
“We have reached 100 days, but we have not lost our determination. Our demand for a permanent visa remains steadfast. We will continue our struggle until the 9,500 refugees are granted permanent residency. From today, we will begin new actions, including campaigns that will continue to pressure the government,” Barthlote added.
See more photographs from the rally below:
