Kevin Rudd must up the ante on Sri Lanka
As nations such as Canada and Britain weigh in on accountability for war crimes in Sri Lanka, it’s time for Australia to add its voice. After all, promoting human rights is a crucial part of foreign policy, as Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd is keen to say.
A month ago the Sri Lankan government’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission issued its long-awaited report. The commission was established by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in May 2010 to deflect mounting international pressure on accountability for alleged war crimes in the final months of the conflict with the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
As the UN Panel of Experts reported last April, tens of thousands of civilians were killed during that period, largely from indiscriminate shelling by government forces. Government forces were also implicated in extrajudicial killings, torture and the shelling of protected places such as hospitals, while LTTE abuses included using civilians as human shields, shooting people who tried to escape and forcibly conscripting child soldiers. Nearly three years after the conflict ended, in May 2009, there is still no accountability for any of these war crimes.
In the end, the commission’s report is disappointing. It discounts the worst government abuses, such as footage of summary executions of prisoners by uniformed soldiers shown in the British Channel 4 documentary Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields.
Though four independent experts told the UN the footage was genuine, the commission cast doubts on its authenticity and recommended further forensic testing. More surprising, while the commission concluded there were civilian casualties, it did not call for investigations into indiscriminate attacks.
The report rehashes longstanding recommendations on accountability from previous government commissions. There is no reason to believe the government will carry them out now, since it never has before. In short, the report does not advance accountability for victims of Sri Lanka’s armed conflict. Its serious shortcomings highlight the need for an international investigative mechanism into the wartime abuses, as the UN Panel of Experts recommended.
Last year, after Killing Fields aired on Australian television, Rudd called on the UN Human Rights Council, which at war’s end had publicly dismissed the possibility of government abuses, to reconsider its findings.
“I believe their deliberation on it was inadequate,” he said. “And I would call upon – as does the Australian government through its mission in Geneva – the Human Rights Council to revisit this matter.” He concluded that “no one watching this program could emerge from that undisturbed, and we don’t either”.
At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in October, when Sri Lanka’s fitness to hold the next meeting was raised, Julia Gillard said: “On the question of human rights abuses and allegations of those abuses in Sri Lanka, the government’s position is we have consistently raised our concerns about human rights questions in the end stage of the conflict. These need to be addressed by Sri Lanka.”
Australia’s relationship with Sri Lanka has been somewhat complicated by the boatloads of ethnic Tamils heading to Australia and Australia’s co-operation with the Sri Lankan government to prevent people-smuggling. But Canada has faced similar issues, and this has not stopped Canada from speaking out strongly about accountability.
With a Human Rights Council session approaching next month, now is the time for the Australian government to show leadership in calling for the issue to be re-examined and assessing the need for an independent, international investigation.
Canada and Britain have issued statements expressing concern the LLRC’s report does not address the serious allegations of war crimes and calling for a credible independent mechanism. The Sri Lankan government has made it clear that it is not willing to impartially investigate these war crimes. So the international community needs to step in.
In April 2010, Australia issued a Human Rights Framework, saying the government will seek to “improve the protection and promotion of human rights at home, within our region and around the world”. While Rudd has spoken out strongly on Syria and Libya, he should show the same attention to human rights issues in Australia’s own region, and Sri Lanka would be the perfect place to start.
Source: Human Rights Watch / DM Online
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I sincerely hope the Foreign Minister of racist Australia doesn’t respond to this ill conceived request.
A week ago, Australia’s Prime Minister had to be rescued by a burly policeman from a mob of angry Aborogines, whose lands the racist whites have occupied illegally having cleared a large proportion of the Aboriginal population with guns, alcohol, forced abductions etc etc.
There’s a sizeable economic refugee Tamil diaspora voting block in Australia (having obtained recognised degrees from SL Universities under free education). These guys wield siginificant influence amongst the political leadership in Australia holding high positions in the public and private sectors, providing community leadership, living and mixing amongst higher echelons of Australian society. I guess these guys meet with their MP’s in the super Sri Lanka restaurants that dot the Australian suburbs and apply pressure on them.
The migrant Sinhala community in Australia, mainly consisting of lower middle class from Southern Sri Lanka (eg: the blogger Manjula) lack cohesion, economic, academic and entreprenurial powers, education, public service and business to influence political leadership in Australia. In addition, the racist Police are investigating the SL High Commissioner (who happens to be from the Sinhala community, not a career diplomat and a retired Navy Commander with a white beard) for alleged war crimes.
I suggest a strong diplomatic response to this request for Australian support for the tamil diaspora’s cause in the oncoming HRC sessions. Maybe, whilst our Cricketers are are participating in the 50 over tri-nation tournament this month, we should a send a strong ministerial delegation lead by Nimal Siripala de Silva, Wimal Weerawansa, Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Mahinda Samarasighe (who drove Naveena Pillay to tears of regret, recently) to promote the good things the Government of Rajapaksa have done since crushing the tamil tigers.
Dear Nicholas,
We need your assistance here.
You have been referred to as a “know-all” by Pradeep in another blog.
Now this guy, Esela, comes up with a significant attack of the Australian Sinhala community and our High Commissioner for their inability to respond to diaspora tamil propoganda.
We need you to come up with a powerful and convincing narration of Australia’s history that demonstrates its racial weaknesses and a strong defence of the Sinhala Community in Australia. Please note your favourite, Manjula, has been dragged into this sordid affair.
In my visits to Australia, I too have noted the Sinhala community lagging far behind the brainy, intelligent and forward thinking, influential tamil dispora community. Their community leaders are second generation, Australian qualified professionals while the Sinhala community lacks leadership. Members of our community are satisfied with menial jobs in places like supermarkets, bus driving, toilet cleaning etc while the tamils, due their sheer hard work, perseverence and intelligence, have risen the ranks of Australian society and are in positions of influence in foreign affairs, national policy, higher level health care, financial services, research and technology etc. Despite the success in the community, the tamils have a symbiotic attachment to their homeland. Our people in Australia are confused by MC Indiri Dekama.
The sinhala community is good at serving masters as demonstrated by their success in Oil Shiek households in the Middle East and are able to support a flagging economy.
Instead of singing paeans to the glory of the rulers, the SL community should embark on campaign to counter the LTT remnant onslaught in the month of February.
Nicholas, I encourage you to rise to the occasion.
Dear Mahesh,
I am wondering whether you are a Tamil gentleman, who is now domiciled in Australia, not that it matters. I wish you all the best!
A former HC of Australia was my close relative. He was a former Election Commissioner. When I sought his help to migrate to Australia, while he was still HC, he totally ignored my letter. I am a poor relative and a nobody, in his book. He is now domiciled in Australia with all his family. Anyway, I am quite happy I did not migrate to Australia afterall, as it is notoriously a white supremacist, racist country, like USA. As Esela Singh quite rightly pointed this out, in his two opening paras, in blog 1.
Australia is today regarded as part of the ‘West’ (though geographically situated in the East), because it is predominantly ruled by the white majority of mixed European white races, who have migrated there over the past century. They even had a racially biased emigration policy to favour whites. Even today, whites are favoured in employment, housing and education etc. Australia is as hypocritical as USA, Britain, Canada and France. Just like USA, it is too ready to knock small developing countries like SL, on Human Rights issues, Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes.
Australia was discovered and colonised by the British in 19th century, which is even today a Commonwealth Country. In the 19th century, Britain exiled whole families of prisoners to Australia, many of them unjustly sentenced for theiving food to survive, or for unpaid debts in an unjust society, depicted so effectively by Charles Dickens through his excellent novels. CD fought for social justice in Britain through his novels. These British migrants’ descendents eventually ruled Australia, joined by European migrants. The present PM of Australia is originally from Wales in UK.
The true natives of Australia are the Aborigines, who migrated from Africa about 60,000 years ago on foot, through Asia. The true black natives of Andaman Island and Papua New Gunea may have also been originally from the black migrants of Africa, who have branched off. This is a scientifically proven fact from genetic studies. The white migrants who occupied Australia in their droves from Europe massacred the Abrigines like animals. The white Europeans who migrated to USA too massacred the true natives of USA, the so-called Red Indians, along with the bison, to grab their land. The very same white Australian rulers and the white US rulers preach to us in SL, on human right abuse, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
WHAT HYPOCRISY AND DOUBLE STANDARDS!!!
Even today, the Australian white rulers continue their human rights abuse and crimes against humanity of the true natives of Australia, the Aborigines, and the other ethnic minorites such as Asians and Africans, who have migrated in the past few decades.
Who are they then to hold to ridicule/criticize the LLRC Report of the independent committee appointed by the Hon President of SL, after the Humanitarian Operation to rid the country of terrorist LTTE for good? It is utterly abominable/despicable for Australian white rulers to uphold the CH 4 documentary called ‘Killing Fields’, which were proven independently and scientifically to be fabricated lies by the ex-LTTE remanants, TNA and the diaspora Tamils.
Kevin Rudd extols the ‘Darusman Report’ by the so-called ‘UN Panel of Experts’, as a true account of war crimes and crimes against humanity, in the final phase of the Humanitarian Operation. First of all, Rudd got it wrong by claiming it was a ‘UN panel of experts’. This is a brazen lie! It was infact a panel appointed by UNSG privately, through the backdoor when UNSC, UNGA and UNHRC voted against an inquiry by overwhelming majority. The panel infact consists of three individuals noted for their extreme bias in favour of LTTE and the diaspora Tamils. Hence, the Report is vitiated by its bias and of questionable authenticity. That is, it is not a true account but pure fabricated evidence. That is why it was rightly rejected by the LLRC committee. Even when the Darusman panel of three were invited to give their evidence to LLRC committee they baulked, because they knew they would be proven to be dishonest. The question is were the UNSG and the ‘Darusman three’ bribed/corrupted by the rich money bags of diaspora Tamils?
Canada, Australia, Britain, USA, France, Norway, Holland and Germany have united to untiringly push UNHRC at its meeting in Switzerland, despite their previous failures so often, to humiliate, condemn and crucify SL on false charge of war crimes, crimes against humanity and human rights abuse.
Who is going to hold to account USA, Britain and NATO countries for their appalling record of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya? Who is going to expose their utter hypocrisy and double standards, at the UNHRC meeting, now or ever?
Finally Mahesh, I have to admit that the Tamils in Canada, USA, Britain, France, Germany, Holland and Australia are very well co-ordinated by a few intelligent, energetic Tamil leaders among them, to raise funds through legitimate and illegal businesses/operations for their ‘Causa Nostra’, the formation of a ‘Tamil nation’ and a domicile for it, which they see at the moment as the whole of SL island.
In the first phase the diaspora Tamils/TNA will agitate for mere autonomy of the area LTTE have demarcated as Tamil kingdom, once they have achieved this, in the second phase they will grab the rest of the island for the ‘Tamil nation’, with the massacre/genocide of the Sinhalese majority. They will then not stop there. In the final phase, the whole of Tamil Nadu will agitate for sovereignty for their 70 million Tamils and amalgamate with SL to form an empire for Tamil nation. This is their long term plan, their vision!
Dear Nicholas,
Thank you for your factual expose on Australia. Greatly appreciated. I find the last para a bit difficult to imbibe. That is mere speculation.
By the way, I am resident not far from where you are in Sri Lanka. I have a close relationship with Australia as I frequently visit siblings who are domiciled in that country.
The Aborigines of Australia have set up their own parliament in a tent opposite the stone walled white man’s parliament in the capitol city.
The Aboriginal tent parliament is a symbol of protest against the white man’s invasion of that country and its consequences.
On Australia’s national day, the white leaders openly called for the removal of the Aboriginal tent parliament at the official celebration event and were wining and dining in a restaurant when a group of angry and dissapointed Aborigines gathered outside the glass walled restaurant.
A burly police officer grabbed the lady Prime Minister and stuck her head under his armpit and dragged her down the staircase to her waiting car. Photographs of the incident were published world wide. this photograph of the policeman dragging the lady Prime Minister is reflection of racist Australia.
Australia provided one its citizens to Sri Lanka to participate in the anti-terroism war. Having participated successfully in the war, this Australian citizen is now leading SL’s reconcilliation efforts in the UN. cuts a poor figure in attemting to provide leadership to international initiatives on Sri Lanka.
The picture of the policeman dragging the lady Prime Minsiter with her head and neck crushed under his armpit shows how indigenous and minority peoples are treated by the law and law enforcement officers in Australia.
Australia
Dear Mahesh,
I am glad to know you are also domiciled in SL. The last para in my blog 3 is indeed speculation, but based on media reports of the speeches of leaders of the so-called Transnational Government of Tamil eelam. I hope my words won’t be prophetic!
The woman, Adele B, is wanted in SL on terrorism charges. GOSL should push through Interpol for her arrest and extradition. I have read in media reports she has now quit UK, since her husband’s death after falling out with LTTE members in UK over millions of pounds she has acquired from her husband and has settled in Australia, which has no extradition treaty with SL. If this is true, then Australia will provide her a safe haven to live a life of luxury, with her husband’s money of embezzled LTTE funds. May be they will cut her throat one day or force her to bite a cyanide capsule.