Government supports Sri Lankan war criminals
The United Nations has passed a resolution calling for an international inquiry into war crimes committed in Sri Lanka during the country’s 26-year civil war.
Unfortunately, the US- and UK-sponsored resolution will do nothing to stop the ongoing persecution of the Tamil ethnic minority in Sri Lanka.
“There are extreme limits on this investigation”, says Trevor Grant, convener of the Tamil Refugee Council. “The Sri Lankan government was found guilty of genocide and the UK and the US were found complicit in genocide. The US and the UK have a lot to answer for in Sri Lanka and one small face-saving resolution is not going to solve that issue.”
The resolution also fails to address or even mention the ethnic conflict.
“The Tamil community has long been calling for a credible international investigation into what happened at the end of the war in 2009”, says Trevor.
They are also concerned about the ongoing persecution. “There’s nothing [in the resolution] that’s going to stop the murders and the rapes and the disappearance and the jailing of Tamils.”
The Australian government has refused to back the resolution. Not because it is inadequate, but because of its support for the Rajapaksa government in Sri Lanka. Foreign minister Julie Bishop claims that the resolution does not adequately recognise “significant progress taken by the Sri Lankan government to promote economic growth”.
“This is all linked to a three word slogan: ‘Stop the boats’”, says Trevor. “The Australian government has shown a willingness, both the Labor government and now Abbott even more, to condone the worst possible war crimes just to make sure that they will stop the boats.”
The Australian government has an agreement with the Sri Lankan government to return asylum seekers whose claims are rejected; any inquiry into Sri Lanka’s treatment of Tamils could jeopardise this.
“We have a foreign minister calling for a resolution that congratulates the Sri Lankan government. It is not only disappointing; it’s disgusting”, said Aran Mylvaganam, advocate for the Tamil Refugee Council and former asylum seeker.
Despite the Australian government’s despicable position, Aran fears that the investigation, even if the Sri Lankan government allows it to go ahead, will only hinder the Tamil cause. “All these people are going to say that something’s being done for the Tamils and as a result we may lose the momentum that we currently have.”
[Follow Kim on Twitter @kim_doyle1]
