By Jill Fraser
MELBOURNE
Three days after refugees at a Nauru detention center received letters saying they could be relocated to Cambodia as soon as Monday it is still unclear if any of them have agreed to travel, despite media reports to the contrary.
An ABC story published Thursday quoted unnamed sources as saying that a plane had been chartered for April 20 and up to 10 refugees would be on board.
A spokesperson for Immigration Minister Peter Dutton would not confirm the date to The Anadolu Agency on Friday - or how many would be travelling - but did say that “the first group of volunteers is anticipated to depart for Cambodia in the near future.”
Khem Sarin, who heads up the refugee department within Cambodia's Ministry of Interior, told AA on Friday that he did not have any information about the supposed transfer.
“For the person who volunteers to come, they have to see a presentation” about Cambodia, he offered.
The impoverished country signed an A$40 million ($31 million) resettlement deal with Australia last year, but so far none of the refugees - many of whom are Muslim - have been shipped to the Southeast Asian country.
The United Nations' refugee agency, human rights advocates and other refugee organizations have condemned the deal.
Refugee advocates have told AA that there is “hard evidence” that one Muslim Rohingya male has agreed to the transfer and three male Tamils - asylum seekers, not refugees, who are still in detention and therefore not technically able to qualify to transfer to Nauru - have also signed up.
One advocate - who did not wish to be identified for reasons of anonymity - suggested provocatively: “If people say they’ll go the government will simply tick them off as a refugee.
"Refugee Action Coalition spokesperson Ian Rintoul has told AA that sources on Nauru have said that "a bucket load of money" is being offered as cash support to encourage refugees to transfer to Cambodia.
The letters - fact sheets - distributed to refugees this week promise a one-off package, including cash in hand and in a bank account, accommodation, insurance and a wide range of services such as language tuition for those who choose to be resettled in Cambodia.
“The amounts being talked about seem to be similar to amounts [offered] to coerce people to return to their countries,” Rintoul said, adding that Iranians and Lebanese on Manus are routinely offered $10,000 to go home.
“One of the interpreters has said that similar figures are being offered. But I can’t confirm this.”
Another advocate - who also did not wish to be identified for reasons of anonymity - said: “Some singles will volunteer to go because it will be easier to escape from Cambodia than Nauru.”
Nauru is an island in the central Pacific Ocean. Cambodia borders Vietnam and Thailand, through which Muslim asylum seekers relgularly travel to get to Malaysia and beyond.
The fact sheet described Cambodia as a safe country where police maintain law and order.
“It does not have a problem with violent crime or stray dogs," it adds.
The ABC's AM program has been told Australian officials have selected two potential accommodations sites in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.
The sheet describes them as serviced apartments, guesthouses or villa style.
In a statement sent to AA, Greens Immigration Senator Sarah Hanson-Young refers to the government's notion of "voluntary."
“How voluntary is it?” she asks describing the culture inside the Nauru detention center as “toxic, abusive and dangerous.”
“This is like asking these refugees to choose between a punch in the face and a kick in the guts.”
Hanson-Young refers to the controversial $40 million deal to transfer refugees to Cambodia as “a bribe.”
“Anyone who has been to Cambodia knows it is wrong to bribe a poor nation like Cambodia to take Australia’s refugees.”
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has expressed concerns about Cambodia's human rights record and its ability to support more refugees.
AA asked the regional spokesperson for the UNHCR in Bangkok whether Australia is failing to meet its obligations as a signatory of the Refugee Convention by transferring refugees from Nauru to Cambodia.
“The 1951 Refugee Convention clarifies the rights of refugees and the obligations of the States that are party to it,” Vivian Tan said.
“It did not envision a scenario where a Convention State tries to relocate recognized refugees to another country, an act which nonetheless goes against international norms.
"The UNHCR continues to talk with the [Australian] authorities to find more protection-sensitive approaches," Tan said.
* Anadolu Agency Correspondent Lauren Crothers contributed to this story from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
