Villawood detainees stitch lips official
From AAP
29jan02
FOUR asylum seekers at Sydney's Villawood Detention Centre have sewn their lips in solidarity with hunger striking detainees around the country.
An Immigration Department spokesman confirmed the action today, but said it was a calm night at the centre.
The move comes as a group of Afghan hunger strikers at the Woomera detention facility start to remove stitches from their lips ahead of a visit by an independent advisory group.
It follows angry protests at the Villawood centre yesterday in which demonstrators threatened to climb the perimeter fence.
Immigration officials said 235 asylum seekers were taking part in the 14-day-old hunger strike at South Australia's Woomera facility - 12 of whom had their lips sewn together.
Detainees at Melbourne's Maribyrnong Detention Centre called off a hunger strike yesterday, while four detainees at Curtin and 16 at Port Hedland in WA maintained their protest.