First Nauru refugees arrive in Phnom Penh
Rights groups slam deal with Australia
1.PHNOM PENH : Cambodia received its first batch of asylum-seekers from Australian custoday yesterday with rights groups labeling them "human guinea pig ”for an uncaring policy by Canberra to Offload refugees on to other countries.
2.The migrants-three Iranians and one ethnic Rohingya from Myanmar-were flown into Phnom Penh the capital of one of Southeast Asia’s poorest nations with a weak record for upholding human rights
3.“they have arrived now, and we already handed them to the IOM,”Chhay Bonna, the airport’s chief immigration officer said, referring to International Organization for Migration which is tasked helping the four settle into their new home.
4.The refugees-three men and one women – were greeted by Cambodian immigration officials and representatives from Australia’s embassy at the VIP scene said.
5. The IOM said the group were being taken to temporary accommodation in the Cambodian capital where they would undergo language training as well as “cultural and social orientation”
6.“They’re here, ther’re healthy and we ask for privacy for them ,”IOM regional spokesmen joe Lowry said.
7.Under Canberra’s hardline immigration policy asylum-seekers who arrive by boat are denied resettlement in Australia and sent to Papua New Guinea and Nauru, even if they are genuine refugees.