About 1000 protesters have gathered at an inner Brisbane park before marching on a nearby hotel and demanding the release of asylum seekers.
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The protesters gathered in Raymond Park, behind the Pineapple Hotel, in Kangaroo Point, on Sunday afternoon about 200m from where around 100 men are being detained at Kangaroo Point Central Hotel.
After being addressed by organisers as they sat peacefully in the park, they marched en masse to the hotel chanting, "free, free the refugees" and "no hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here."
The demonstration was supposed to be limited to two hours after police successfully applied to a Brisbane court to place a time constraint on the rally to minimise disruption to traffic and local residents.
The rally was also not supposed to block Main St, a key arterial out of Brisbane's CBD.
The protesters not only gathered on Main St street but chanted for hours.
Supporters have been camping outside the hotel for more than a week to stop the men being relocated elsewhere.
Brisbane City Councillor Jonathan Sri was among those who protested on Sunday for release of the asylum seekers into the community, the majority of them making it into Australia under the-now repealed medevac laws from offshore detention.
"The protest is calling for the men to be released into the community. Under the refugee convention Australia is required to settle them here," The Greens councillor for the Gabba Ward said.
"The vast majority are genuine refugees...I believe the vast majority of them are (medevac arrivals)."
He said some have been in detention for seven years.
Cr Sri was arrested last weekend for contravening a direction of a police officer although the charges were dropped a few days ago.
Earlier this week, Acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge said there were about 100 men detained at the complex.
He said they came out under Labor's medevac laws and those determined to be refugees could resettle outside of Australia.
"They decide for themselves if they want to fully settle in PNG, in Nauru," Mr Tudge said.
"If they haven't got a refugee determination status they can return to their home country or indeed return to the United States if that option is available to them."
A police spokesman said there had been one arrest.
Cr Sri said the police have "a track record" of arresting protesters without justification in a clear reference to his charges being dropped.
Australian Associated Press
