The torching of the Pekan Nenas immigration detention camp in Pontian, Johor, last night by rioters has sparked calls for a royal commission of inquiry to look into the human rights condition of all detention centres in the country.

Tenaganita director Irene Fernandez, in calling for the royal commission, said appalling conditions must have driven the detainees to set ablaze four of the five wooden buildings where they were housed while awaiting deportation back to their homeland.

About 1,500 detainees were believed to have been involved in the riot.

"We ask Home Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to show proof of accountability by setting up the commission and making public the findings," said Fernandez, whose organisation has provided support to migrant workers.

"The protest must move authorities to recognise that migrant workers are human beings and needed to be treated like one and not just as 'illegals'. There is no illegal human being in the world, there are only undocumented workers."

Bursting point

Fernandez said the riots raised serious concern as most of the detainees were Muslims who must have been pushed to 'a bursting point' to have acted so violently during the fasting month.

"The conditions in the camps we believe must have been inhuman and horrible to a bursting point of tolerance," she said.

The fire started about 7.40pm and five minutes later, Block A was on fire. It spread to Blocks B, C and D. The women's quarters housing 306 illegals was spared.

The illegal immigrants at the camp are mostly from Indonesia but also include nationals from Bangladesh, India, Burma, Pakistan, Cambodia, Thailand, Philippines, China, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Nigeria and Liberia.

The detainees involved in the riot have been sent to detention centres in neighbouring states, and authorities are making arrangements to immediately deport about 1,500 Indonesians.

Appalling conditions

Fernandez said recent interviews conducted by Tenaganita with former detainees concluded that conditions in the camp continues to be 'harsh and inhuman' and detainees have been beaten and tortured by camp authorities.

In the interviews, a detainee released in October 2001 from Pekan Nenas revealed disgusting conditions, denial of treatment when ill and various forms of torture perpetrated by the camp authorities. Another detainee said food was insufficient and poorly prepared.

"They only got two slices of bread with one small cup of red-coloured water called tea. The cup was a plastic bottle that was cut up. Small pieces of fried salted fish was for dinner, sometimes with just a slice of cucumber," she said.

Fernandez said detainees also claimed that the camp did not have sufficient supply of water, and toilets were not working.

She said detainees were not allowed to use slippers and had to walk barefooted on floors "very often filled with faeces".

"Detainees were beaten if they asked for more water. Each detainee was only given three cups of boiled water to drink per day," she added.

Parting payment

Other than food and living condition, Fernandez said her interviews with former detainees also revealed that they face problems during entry and deportation.

She related an incident where an Indonesian was asked to collect RM30 from each detainee being deported as he was the captain of the group.

"But not everyone was able to pay. The money collected was shared among the policemen. As a captain, he also received a share. One detainee was released after he paid RM600 to get travel documents of a Burmese national," said Fernandez.

Fernandez said Abdullah must ensure that the migrants at the centre and in all other camps do not face punishment but are deported humanely so that they can be united with their families for Aidil Fitri (Muslim festival).

She said the denials and inaction by the government further reinforce the belief that it is "corrupt, irresponsible and arrogant in its use of power".

Fernandez also condemned the Human Rights Commission, saying that its visit and investigation into the camp conditions have been futile and ineffective.

"It was naive for Suhakam to make visits with advanced approval from the camp authorities and expect to obtain accurate information from detainees who were still in a captive situation during such visits," she said.