Refugee Activist Blockade Wilson Security Car Park in Melbourne

BOYCOTT WILSON
MEDIA RELEASE
Immediate Release

June 2, 2016

Activists are currently blockading a Wilson Security car parking station at the Melbourne Central complex, preventing drivers from entering the car park.
This car park is located beneath the head office of Wilson Security, a major player in the detention centre industry that profits on the illegal imprisonment of asylum seekers, people who have committed no crimes. Wilson Security has secured Government contracts worth $478 million (2013-2016) while also managing to evade paying tax in Australia, as revealed by the Panama Papers. Activists are asking users of the car park to boycott Wilson.

Gaye Demanuele, spokesperson for ‘Boycott Wilson’ said,
“We are taking this targeted action today as we have exhausted other options. We have signed petitions, held rallies and cried at vigils. We’ve been polite, we’ve called on the politicians to do what is right and moral. Manus Is and Nauru detention camps have not been closed and people who sought our help remain imprisoned in hellish conditions”

“Many of the people detained on Manus Island and Nauru have met the UN criteria as refugees and yet they remain imprisoned, suffering harsh and abusive conditions. Some have lost their lives, while others report that they have been raped, tortured, cable tied and beaten at the hands of Wilsons Security guards. As political prisoners, they have stated ’all we have left to protest with is our bodies’. We stand in solidarity with them”.

Sam Castro, spokesperson for Whistleblowers, Activists and Citizens Alliance (WACA), stated that
“This action is the first of rolling actions that “will demonstrate that Wilson has no social licence to make its profits on the suffering and misery of asylum seekers. Let’s not wait for another murder, rape or suicide. We will not stop until Nauru and Manus Island detention camps are permanently closed and the refugees resettled safely in Australia” she said.

Boycott Wilson activists are asking the people of Melbourne to boycott Wilson Security carparks as a strong message to Wilson to withdraw from the detention centre industry. This is a practical act that will hit Wilson where its shareholders will take notice – in its profit margin.

For further information: https://www.facebook.com/boycottWilson/

#CloseTheCamps

#BringThemHere

#CancelTheContracts

#BoycottWilson

#NoBusinessInAbuse
Gaye Demanuele, Sam Castro