'Light the dark' vigils across Australia following asylum seeker's death

Candlelight vigils have been held around Australia for Reza Barati, the Iranian man killed in last Monday’s violence at the Manus Island detention centre.

At some 750 sites around the country, including the foot of the Port Adelaide lighthouse, a cattle station in Western Queensland, and major cities, thousands of Australians raised candles to “light the dark” in protest at Australian immigration policies.

About 15,000 people took part, according to the the activist group GetUp! Many also joined the demonstrations using social media, posting their own candlelight tributes and messages of support.

“Many thousands of Australians tonight cried out for change,” said GetUp’s national director, Sam Mclean. “The truth is we just don’t know what’s happening in these places, the government’s shut off the lights, taking censorship to an unprecedented level.”

“We need a truly independent inquiry into this tragedy and proper public scrutiny of these places.”

Mclean said the large turnout to the protests, which were organised last Friday, reflected growing discomfort in the community at “what’s being done in our name”.

“The whole point of offshore detention is to get these policies out of sight, out of mind. As we break down the veil of secrecy that Scott Morrison is aiming to create, more Australians will change their views,” he said.

The vigils come a week after Barati, 23, was killed, and 62 other asylum seekers were injured in a riot at the Australian-run Papua New Guinea detention facility.

The immigration minister, Scott Morrison, has announced two enquiries into the incident. On Sunday, the prime minister, Tony Abbott, defended Morrison, telling journalists he was “doing a great job for our country”.

“You don’t want a wimp running border protection, you want someone who is strong, who is decent and Scott Morrison is both strong and decent,” he said.

The Guardian