SYDNEY: Nauru Tuesday dismissed as “fabricated” claims that asylum-seekers faced violence, abuse and humiliating treatment while living in Australian immigration facilities on the Pacific island, saying refugees had become political pawns.
The release of more than 2,000 leaked reports of incidents on Nauru detailing allegations of widespread abuse and self-harm, including children wanting to kill themselves, have sparked new calls for a parliamentary inquiry.
Hitting back at the claims contained in the leaked documents, which date from 2013 to 2015, the Nauruan government said asylum-seekers had made up most of them in hope of being relocated to Australia.
“Most refugee & advocate claims on Nauru fabricated to achieve goal to get to Aust. So called “reports” based solely on these claims,” the government tweeted on Tuesday.
In a second tweet, the republic accused the Australian left-wing media, Greens MPs and refugee advocates of “using refugees as pawns for their political agendas. Very sad”.
