The Australian government had frozen the application of a Tamil asylum seeker, who tragically self immolated and died this week, stated refugee advocates.
29-year-old Leorsin Seemanpillai had been living in Geelong waiting for his protection visa application to be processed by the Australian government. He had arrived in Australia by boat in January 2013. He passed away on Saturday night, after suffering burns to 90 percent of his body.
The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre's spokesperson Pamela Curr stated that Seemanpillai had waited 6 months before he was even allowed to make a claim for refugee status, and even after 18 months still had not had an official interview.
The Guardian went on to report Curr as adding,
Trevor Grant from the Tamil Refugee Council also added,
29-year-old Leorsin Seemanpillai had been living in Geelong waiting for his protection visa application to be processed by the Australian government. He had arrived in Australia by boat in January 2013. He passed away on Saturday night, after suffering burns to 90 percent of his body.
The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre's spokesperson Pamela Curr stated that Seemanpillai had waited 6 months before he was even allowed to make a claim for refugee status, and even after 18 months still had not had an official interview.
The Guardian went on to report Curr as adding,
"We don't know but maybe Leo would still be alive if his claims were being processed in a timely way... These direct-entry people were all ‘frozen’."Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young backed Curr and slammed the current Australian government's policies, saying that "it's clear that Leo was a casualty of the system".
Trevor Grant from the Tamil Refugee Council also added,
"He knew if he was sent back he'd face persecution from the military... He's been in limbo ever since he got here in terms of his visa situation, and this coupled with his depression and fear of being sent back."Australia's Immigration minister Scott Morrison refused to state whether the government's policies on asylum seekers had caused Seemanpillai to take his own life, instead stating that “this is a terrible and tragic incident and none of us can know the mind of someone in this situation".