Australian PM Abbott is Determined to Stop Flow of Asylum Seekers

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Only the current Australian government can stop asylum seekers from arriving in the country and not "succumb to the cries of the human rights lawyers," Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Thursday.

"I'm also confident that only this government can keep them stopped because any other government, I suspect, would quickly succumb to the cries of the human rights lawyers and others and what that would mean, very quickly, is that the people smugglers would be back in business."

According to Abbott, asylum seekers arrive on Australia's shores, but his government has "largely stopped the boats," which is the "best thing" to do. The prime minister did not answer questions regarding whether the government would investigate claims of abuse in Australia's offshore detention centers, where the boat passengers are sent.

Last month, Abbott called stopping boats "the most humanitarian, the most decent, the most compassionate thing" to prevent deaths.

Refugees, including young children, who come to Australia seeking asylum, are settled in offshore detention camps at the nearby islands of Manus in Papua New Guinea and Nauru.

Australian detention camps are criticized by rights groups for inhumane living conditions. Immigrant detainees have published open letters in the Australian press and staged many protests, including widespread hunger strikes and self-harming actions. Four immigrants were reported to have swallowed razor blades.

In early 2015, Australia's Immigration Minister Peter Dutton reaffirmed that the detainees will not be allowed into Australia regardless of publicity, protest and self-harming activity, according to media reports.