Australia Bars Key Asian, African Researchers from Bat Conference
(MENAFN) Australia has barred eight leading researchers from Asia and Africa from attending the 20th International Bat Research Conference in Cairns by refusing their visa applications, sparking international criticism.
According to media, the conference organizers condemned the Australian government’s refusal to grant visas to scientists invited from Kenya, Uganda, India, Pakistan, and Georgia. The decision has severely disrupted the event, a crucial global forum for bat research and conservation.
Professor Justin Welbergen, the conference chair, said the visa refusals came with no option for appeal and called the decision damaging to the event’s goal of fostering collaboration. He emphasized that every affected researcher was a “recognized contributor” in their discipline, highlighting one leading bat specialist who earned his PhD in Australia.
The Australian Financial Review previously reported that Immigration Minister Tony Burke had rejected dozens of visa requests related to the conference.
In response, the organizing committee sent a letter on Thursday to Minister Burke, signed by nearly 150 delegates, voicing “deep concern and disappointment” over the visa denials. The letter warned the situation risks damaging Australia’s standing as a hub for international scientific cooperation.
“Scientific progress depends on the open exchange of knowledge across borders, including in areas such as zoonotic disease surveillance, biodiversity conservation and ecological sustainability – all topics with direct relevance to Australia’s own interests,” the letter asserted.
The International Bat Research Conference, convened every three years since 1968, was last held in Australia in Sydney in 1989. The week-long event, concluding Friday, attracted approximately 500 participants from 59 countries, spanning research institutions, governments, industry, and conservation organizations.
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