Thousands Protest in Australia Against Sending Migrants to Detention Centers

Thousands of people on Saturday took to the streets of Australian cities protesting against the country's practice to send asylum seekers to offshore detention facilities.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the ABC broadcaster, thousands rallied in a number of Australia's cities, such as Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney protesting against the country's detention centers on Nauru and Manus Island.

The broadcaster added that people in different cities carried banners reading "Close The Camps" and "Bring Them Here" calling on the authorities to let the migrants from the camps arrive in Australia.

The media reported that new rallies would be held on Sunday in the city of Darwin, where several groups of people protested earlier in the week.

Australia sends refugees, who come to the country to seek asylum, to offshore detention camps on Papua New Guinea's (PNG) Manus Island and Nauru in the South Pacific while their applications are being processed by Canberra. Australia's policy in regard to asylum seekers has been repeatedly criticized by rights groups.

On August 17, PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill said that Papua New Guinea and Australia had agreed to close the migrant detention center on Manus Island.