The protesters called on the government to end its controversial policy of turning back refugees and detaining them in offshore islands.
More than a thousand people took to the streets of the Australian city of Canberra Sunday to demand better treatment by the government towards asylum seekers and refugees and ending the controversial scheme of turning them away and detaining indefinitely them in offshore islands.
According to the Australian ABC Online, the protesters included church groups, community organisations, students and families who gathered at Garema Place in the centre of Canberra.
Thousands here in Sydney's Belmore Park peacefully protesting Australia's treatment of refugees @2GB873 @NewsTalk2UE pic.twitter.com/HjOroA9zuu
— Rachel Hayter (@_rachelhayter) March 20, 2016
"From Darwin to Launceston, Perth to Melbourne and here today we're calling for change,” David Manne, executive director of the Refugee Immigration and Legal Centre, told the crowds. "Right across the country there are people... calling for change. They're calling for change from harm to humanity in the way that we treat refugees."
Little Joan made this sign in protest of Australia's treatment of refugees @2GB873 @NewsTalk2UE #auspol pic.twitter.com/LsUGXS8JDw
— Rachel Hayter (@_rachelhayter) March 20, 2016
The protesters marched through the city, chanting "say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here". The demanded that the government increase the numbers of refugees accepted in the country.
At the center of the protest was a cage with a mannequin resembling detention centers used by the government.
Australia has received criticism from the United Nations and rights groups for its hardline refugee policy.
Since 2012, people on boats trying to reach the country have been turned back or taken to camps, where there have been reports of assaults and systemic child abuse.
