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The Nauruan government has compared the arrests of protesting asylum seekers on the island's main street to arresting protesters blocking Sydney's busy Pitt Street.
The number of refugees who have been arrested for ongoing protests on the small Pacific island has soared to 183, which is nearly 40 per cent of the 512 refugees living in the Nauruan community. Numbers have soared from the 49 people who were arrested by local police on Wednesday afternoon, and another 10 refugees arrested on Friday, for blocking one of the main thoroughfares on the island.
The refugees are protesting against their resettlement on Nauru and want to settle in Australia.
A spokesman for the Nauruan government said the refugees - who have been found to be owed protection by the Nauruan government - needed to respect the country's laws.
"This is not a refugee issue to us, it's a law and order issue, and we treat all people the same way, whether they are locals or refugees," a spokesman for the Nauruan government said.
"Instead they insisted on breaking the law by blocking traffic and refused police requests to move, even goading police to arrest them.
"Police in Nauru took action and arrested them in the same way police in Sydney would if this happened in Pitt Street."
The country's criminal code is based on Queensland's Criminal Code 1899, which prohibits people from congregating in groups of more than three people. Section 72 of the code stipulates that no more than three people are allowed to assemble and must disperse within 15 minutes if the Nauruan police deem the group to be "unlawful assembly". If they refuse, they could be "guilty of an offence" and face imprisonment.
The spokesman said the refugees were not "innocent victims" and should not be "portrayed as such".
"They are trying to manipulate the media and public, and we will not play their game," he said.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton warned refugees on Wednesday that protests would have "no influence" on the Abbott government's policies.
