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Manus Island tensions appear contained

Liam Cochrane reported this story on Wednesday, February 19, 2014 18:14:00

MARK COLVIN: Tensions on Manus Island appear to have been contained last night after Monday's riots. The riot was the climax of a series of 'rolling protests' that began on Sunday night when asylum-seekers were apparently told they had no chance of resettlement in Australia.

The altercations began when asylum-seekers reportedly began taunting police and G4S security guards in pidgin.

Our correspondent Liam Cochrane is in Manus Island. I asked him what he'd managed to piece together.

LIAM COCHRANE: Well Mark, I've spoken today to two Papua New Guinean security guards working for G4S, as well as a witness to the violence on Sunday and Monday night, and details are emerging of both those incidents.

You are correct in saying that all three of those people described the insults being shouted towards the guards about Papua New Guinea as a country and about family members of the guards appear to have been a motivating factor and something that has angered the G4S guards, as well as possibly the mobile squad, and has made them go in with considerable force and taking out some of their frustration and anger on the asylum seekers.

MARK COLVIN: Just to clarify this: G4S guards, who are locally engaged, locally employed - they're Papua New Guineans, they're not Australians flown in?

LIAM COCHRANE: That is correct. There was two Papua New Guinean guards I was speaking to, not any of the expatriate G4S staff.

MARK COLVIN: Now, you would imagine that they would have been trained to hold their nerve and hold the line in the face of things like taunts and insults. How did it go so badly wrong?

LIAM COCHRANE: Well, the worst of the violence on Monday night, the second and most serious incident, occurred after a small, approximately 20-man, riot squad went in - they're part of the G4S security company, they're known as the 'incident response team' - they went in dressed in riot gear to try and contain the protests. In fact they might have gone in two or three times and struggled to contain the protests; to stop the insults and the stones that were being thrown at them.

And, as a result, once they were inside, it appears that that small squad was outnumbered by approximately 400 asylum seekers in one of the compounds, and Papua New Guinean G4S staff, as well as expatriate G4S staff, rushed in to help then. It was after that that the worst of the fighting took place, and that resulted in one death and more than 70 injuries.

MARK COLVIN: And have you been able to establish what part the mobile squad played? You have mentioned them already; is their part any clearer than it has been?

LIAM COCHRANE: It appears that they were, from the reports, something of a backup force that was used at various points throughout the evening. I had one report that a stone that was thrown hit one of the mobile squad officers, and it was that incident that caused him to fire his weapon, his gun, a couple of times, and we've heard conformation from Australia that there were shots fired.

We've been told that they were warning shots; the report that I have, which I certainly can't confirm, but from someone who was there at the time, they said it was just a guy getting hit on the head by a stone that caused him to fire his weapon.

MARK COLVIN: And the mobile squad is, how would you describe it? Is it a flying squad? Is it a paramilitary unit? What is it?

LIAM COCHRANE: Papua New Guineans from different parts of the country, and they certainly have a reputation for brutal tactics, and in fact were involved in the death of a young man at the market here on Manus Island on, I believe it was last year. So they certainly do have a reputation as being very, very tough and brutal officers.

MARK COLVIN: Well, in the nature of what you've been able to find out is that you've only really been able to speak to people from outside the perimeter, as it were: guards, rather than the guarded. Is there any prospect - have you been able to get any closer to seeing a picture from inside?

LIAM COCHRANE: No, not at this stage. The area is still locked down, and there are eight detainees who were locked up after Sunday night's escape attempt and riot; there I spoke to them briefly a couple of days ago, but haven't spoken to them since. So, there's various bits of information coming out via the internet and telecommunications coming out to Australia reportedly from asylum seekers, but I haven't been able to speak directly with the asylum seekers on Manus.

MARK COLVIN: Liam Cochrane on Manus Island.


  • Click an image to enlarge
  • Breakout at Manus Island
  • Death in detention centre
  • What led to death and injuries on Manus Island?
From the Archives

27th February 2003


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