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அவுஸ்திரேலிய நியூலாந்து எம்பிக்கள் சிறீலங்காவில் கைதின் பின் விடுதலை.

Featured Replies

  • கருத்துக்கள உறவுகள்

தமிழர் பகுதிகளை பார்வையிட்டு ஆய்வு செய்த வெளிநாட்டு எம்.பி.க்களை கைது செய்த இலங்கை அரசு!

 

இலங்கையில் தமிழர் பகுதிகளை பார்வையிட்டு உண்மை நிலை குறித்து ஆய்வு செய்ய முயன்ற ஆஸ்திரேலியா மற்றும் நியூஸிலாந்து நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர்கள் இருவர் தடுத்து வைக்கப்பட்டனர். ஆஸ்திரேலிய நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர் லீ ரைனோன் மற்றும் நியூஸிலாந்து நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர் ஜான் லொகீ ஆகிய இருவருமே இவ்வாறு தடுத்து வைக்கப்பட்டனர்.

 

ஆஸ்திரேலியா மற்றும் நியூஸிலாந்து நாடுகளின் பிரதமர்கள் பங்கேற்கும் காமன்வெல்த் மாநாடு இலங்கையில் தொடங்கியுள்ள இந்த நேரத்தில் சிங்கள அரசின் இந்த கைது நடவடிக்கை பரபரப்பை ஏற்படுத்தியது.

விசா சட்டத்தை மீறி கொழும்பில் ஊடகவியலாளர் மாநாட்டை நடத்துவதற்கு முயன்றனர் என்ற குற்றச்சாட்டின் பேரில் இருவரும் தடுத்து வைக்கப்பட்டதாகவும், அவர்களிடம் போலீசார் பல மணி நேரம் விசாரணை நடத்தியதாகவும் கூறப்படுகிறது.

 

கட்நத 8ம் தேதி இலங்கைக்கு சென்ற இவர்கள், தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பின் சார்பில் பாராளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர்கள், வடமாகாண முதலமைச்சர், வடமாகாண சபை உறுப்பினர்களைச் சந்தித்து கலந்துரையாடியிருந்தனர்.

 

விசா சட்டத்தை மீறி கொழும்பில் ஊடகவியலாளர் மாநாட்டை நடத்துவதற்கு முயன்றனர் என்ற குற்றச்சாட்டின் பேரில் தடுத்து வைக்கப்பட்டிருந்த ஆஸ்திரேலியா மற்றும் நியூஸிலாந்து நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர்கள் இருவரும் பின்னர் விடுவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளதாக அந்நாட்டு குடிவரவு அதிகாரிகள் தெரிவித்தனர்.

எம்.பி.க்கள் இருவரும் தமது நாடுகளுக்கு திரும்பிச் செல்ல விரும்பம் தெரிவித்ததை அடுத்து விடுவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளதாக கூறப்படுகிறது.

 

http://www.nakkheeran.in/Users/frmNews.aspx?N=110920

 

 

கலோ கலோ சுகமா? ஆமா நீங்க நலமா?.....

 

எனக்கு அவுஸ்திரேலிய பழைய வெளிவிவகார மந்திரி பொப் காறை உள்ளே வைத்து 24 மணித்தியாலம் துருவி துருவி விசாரித்திருந்த்திருந்தகளாயின் அவரும் பயத்திலை இலங்கையைவிட்டு வெளியே ஓடியிருப்பார்; அதை பார்க்க சந்தோசமாக இருந்திருக்கும்.  வெளியே போகும் இவர்கள் அவுஸ்திரேலியாவுக்கு அகதிகளும் ஊடகவியலாரும் ஓட வேண்டிய தேவை இருக்கு என்றதை அங்கே சொல்லிவைக்க வேண்டும்.

 

நல்ல காலம் மன்மோகன் சிங் வந்து துவக்கு சோங்காலை வேண்டவில்லை.

 

இங்கிலாந்தில் வாக்களித்திருந்தாலும் தடை செய்யப்பட்ட பேச்சுகளை டேவிட் கமரூன் இலங்கையில் பேச முடியாது. மீறினால் நாடுகடத்தப்படுவார். 

 

மக்ரே இலங்கையிலிருந்து திருப்பி அனுப்பப்பட்டால் கீத்ரோவில் வைத்து பாரிய வரவேற்பளிக்க இங்கிலாந்தில் உள்ள எல்லா தமிழர்களும் ஆயத்தமாக இருக்க வேண்டும். பிரதானமான கோரிக்கை இது.

Edited by மல்லையூரான்

Lee Rhiannon, Jan Logie released after being detained in Sri Lanka

by Ben Doherty

November 10, 2013

 

MOR-lee-rhiannon-wide-201311101725145314

 

(Detained in Sri Lanka: Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon. Photo: Katherine Griffiths)

 

 

Australian Senator Lee Rhiannon has been released from the custody of Sri Lankan government officials and allowed to leave the country.

She was not charged, neither formally deported, though the Sri Lankan government maintains she and the New Zealand MP Jan Logie broke visa laws, a charge Ms Rhiannon denies.

    "Our detention highlights the Sri Lankan government is unwilling to allow a free exchange of ideas."

"They did not require a statement from us, and we were given back our passports after about three hours in detention," she told Fairfax Media by phone as she drove to Colombo airport.

"The only condition they put on us was that we were not allowed to talk to the media without approval from [sri Lanka's] external affairs department."
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Ms Rhiannon has allowed Fairfax Media to quote her interview.

Ms Rhiannon was in the country on a 'Special Projects' class Tourist Visa, which she says, as a visiting parliamentarian, she was advised to obtain.

"They said that we had broken the law, and I challenged them on that. We obtained the correct visa, we followed their advice on which visa to obtain, the Australian government alerted the Sri Lankan government to our visit and about what we'd be doing. We followed the rules at all times."

She says Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade also sent its Sri Lankan equivalent a formal note advising of her planned visit and activities.

Immigration chief Chulananda Perera said Ms Rhiannon and Ms Logie had broken visa laws.

"Both were in Sri Lanka on tourist visas and holding a press conference is a violation of visa regulations."

The officials took Ms Rhiannon and Ms Logie back to their hotel, and tried to separate them to interrogate them individually.

Ms Rhiannon resisted this, and rang Australia's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Robyn Mudie, for assistance.

Ms Rhiannon said she was not fearful for her safety, but was most worried for the people she had met with during her fact-finding mission to Sri Lanka, which included visits to the heavily-militarised north of the country.

"These people who we were with me when we were detained by immigration officials, they were very fearful, very distressed. They were uncertain about what would happen to them."

“This excessive response from the government of Sri Lanka is just further evidence why the country should not have been awarded the right to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, and the chair of CHOGM for two years.

“Our detention highlights the Sri Lankan government is unwilling to allow a free exchange of ideas.”

Ms Rhiannon said during her visit to Sri Lanka she had seen evidence of severe, and worsening, government repression.

“Elected officials and members of civil society in Sri Lanka have provided us with examples of massive illegal land confiscation by the armed forces; people being jailed and detained with regular disregard for legal rights; violence, often involving rape of women and children, with no police investigation of these crimes; and ongoing intimidation of media workers.”

Comment is being sought from the Sri Lankan immigration department.

Sri Lanka's human rights record is under intense scrutiny at present at it prepares to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which begins this week.

Countries such as Britain, Canada, the US and Australia have criticised the Sri Lankan government for ongoing abuses, such as kidnappings, torture, and alleged killings, by government security forces, and allied paramilitaries.

Greens Leader Christine Milne said she was "very relieved" Senator Rhiannon had been released.

"I'm looking forward to hearing her first-hand account," Senator Milne said.

"The Australian Greens called for a boycott of CHOGM in Sri Lanka earlier this year, as has the Canadian government, because of human rights abuses.

"It is clear from this fact-finding mission and the treatment of foreign journalists that the fears we have held for press freedom are justified.

"The Australian Government continues to turn a blind eye to human rights abuses in Sri Lanka which are continuing to drive a steady stream of people seeking asylum in Australia," she said.

Sri Lanka has been especially sensitive to media and political activities in the lead-up to CHOGM, which Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott will attend.

Last month, it detained two Australian journalist organisers who were meeting with journalist unions. They were interrogated for more than 15 hours before being deported.

The Australian government has been contacted but are yet to provide a statement.

With Dan Harrison

http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/lee-rhiannon-jan-logie-released-after-being-detained-in-sri-lanka-20131110-2x9v4.html

Greens Senator Rhiannon returns to Australia after detainment - will report on Sri Lanka human rights abuses

10 November 2013

 

WHAT: 

 

Senator Rhiannon is on a flight back to Sydney after being detained by Sri Lankan Government officials for over three hours. 

Earlier today Australian Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon and NZ Green MP Jan Logie were meeting with members of civil society when four Sri Lankan immigration officials arrived at the location, confiscated their passports and detained them for over three hours. 

 

Senator Rhiannon and Jan Logie MP were on a fact finding mission in Sri Lanka in the lead up to CHOGM which starts today.  

 

DFAT and the Government of Sri Lanka had been notified of Senator Rhiannon's trip to Sri Lanka prior to her visit.

 

Before their detainment, Senator Rhiannon and Jan Logie MP released a statement (http://bit.ly/HGh8Wg) which said they have found that the ongoing abuses of human and legal rights are so serious that the Commonwealth meeting scheduled for Colombo should not proceed and that the Sri Lanka government should not be given the chair of CHOGM for the next two years . 

 

Senator Rhiannon will be reporting her findings to the Australian parliament this week. 

 

The controversy around Sri Lanka hosting CHOGM continues, as the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said he would not be attending the meeting. 

 

The Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is also boycotting CHOGM citing President Rajapakse’s failure to investigate allegations of war crimes. 

 

WHERE:               Sydney International Airport, Terminal 1. Parking space for the media is available at Departures Roadway.
TIME:                  10am.  Senator Rhiannon’s flight is due to arrive at 9.15am.
WHEN:                 TOMORROW 11 November 2013
Contact:              0487 350 880

 

http://lee-rhiannon.greensmps.org.au/content/media-releases/media-alert-greens-senator-rhiannon-returns-australia-after-detainment-will-r

  • கருத்துக்கள உறவுகள்

சிட்னி விமான நிலையத்தில் லீ ரெய்னன் அவர்கள் வந்தபோது ucft.jpg

Australian Tamil Congress members on behalf of the Australian Tamil Community received Australian Senator Lee Rhiannon at Sydney International Airport after the senator was detained, had her passport confiscated & deported by Sri Lankan Immigration Officials.

The senator was taken into questioning as she was about to leave for a press conference with a fellow New Zealand MP regarding Sri Lanka's Human Rights situation.

The Senator was in Sri Lanka on a fact Finding mission. The actions of the Government of Sri Lanka is an insult to the dignity of the Australian parliament, hence senator Rhiannon has urged Tony Abbott to join Indian & Canadian Prime Minister's to boycott the Commonwealth Summit in Sri Lanka next week.

- Australian Tamil Congress
  • கருத்துக்கள உறவுகள்

Senator heads home after Sri Lanka run-in

 
  • 16 hours ago November 10, 2013 10:25PM

AUSTRALIAN federal MP Lee Rhiannon is safely on a plane bound for Sydney after Sri Lankan authorities detained and interrogated her for hours, her office says.

The Greens senator for NSW was preparing to host a press conference with New Zealand MP Jan Logie on Sunday morning at their Colombo hotel when the pair had their passports seized by immigration officials.

Sunday was the final day of a four-day fact-finding trip to Sri Lanka ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

The two MPs said they were investigating alleged human rights abuses and press freedom in the island nation.

"Abuses so serious that #SriLanka must not host #CHOGM," Senator Rhiannon wrote on her Twitter page on Sunday, shortly before the scheduled press conference.

The next message came three hours later: "Lee has asked us to pass a message on to her followers: She has had her passport confiscated by Sri Lankan Immigration Officials".

She was later released and allowed to board a flight back to Australia.

The Greens say the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the Sri Lankan were both notified ahead of Senator Rhiannon's trip.

A DFAT spokeswoman was unable to confirm this, saying only: "The department is aware that Senator Rhiannon was questioned at her Colombo hotel earlier today by Sri Lankan immigration authorities.

"Senator Rhiannon did not request consular support."

Senator Rhiannon has denied claims by Sri Lankan officials that her planned press conference was in violation of her visa, telling Fairfax Media she had been advised to obtain the "special projects" class tourist visa.

The incident comes just over a week after two Australian press freedom advocates were also detained by Sri Lankan officials and accused of violating their visa conditions.

International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Asia-Pacific director Jacqui Park and her deputy Jane Worthington arrived home last Saturday after two harrowing days of interrogation.

The Sri Lankan government took issue with the Australian duo participating in a press freedom event when they were in the country on tourist visas.

Senator Rhiannon is expected to touch down in Sydney at 9.15am (AEDT) on Monday.

http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/senator-heads-home-after-sri-lanka-run-in/story-e6frfku9-1226756931613

 

  • கருத்துக்கள உறவுகள்
Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon 'very concerned' at detention in Sri Lankai

NSW Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon says her detention by Sri Lankan officials was unlawful. Source: The Daily Telegraph

GREENS senator Lee Rhiannon says her detention by officials in Sri Lanka was unlawful and concerning.

Senator Rhiannon flew into Sydney today after being detained by Sri Lankan immigration officials for three hours during a fact-finding mission to Sri Lanka, ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.

Officials yesterday seized the passports of Senator Rhiannon and New Zealand MP Jan Logie as they prepared to host a media conference alleging continued rights abuses by the Sri Lankan military in the Tamil-dominated north, and to call for CHOGM to be cancelled.

They were then instructed to return to their Colombo hotel.

“At that point I was concerned,” Senator Rhiannon said at Sydney airport.

She said authorities tried to separate the pair, claiming they had violated their visas.

“For a bit over three hours we are detained and we are told by the immigration officers that they will only release us if we give a statement,” she said.

Senator Rhiannon described the treatment as “unlawful”, especially given she had a special projects tourist visa and a letter from DFAT to the Sri Lankan government explaining her trip.

“I was very concerned that my liberty was denied to me for more than three hours,” Senator Rhiannon said.

Senator Rhiannon suspects she was detained because the Sri Lankan government “does not want scrutiny of what is happening in that country”.

“The war crimes need to be investigated; the crimes against humanity clearly continue, the evidence is very strong,” she said.

“The Sri Lankan government want to shut down those messages.”

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday joined Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in boycotting the summit, although Tony Abbott, his New Zealand counterpart John Key and most other Commonwealth nation leaders will be attending.

Senator Rhiannon said the Australian delegation should not be attending the CHOGM meeting, which starts on Friday.

“That delegation should not be headed by Mr Abbott as prime minister. Surely they should take a leaf from the Canadians,” the Senator said.

Senator Rhiannon's detention came a week after two Australian press freedom advocates were detained by Sri Lankan officials and accused of violating their visa conditions.

International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Asia-Pacific director Jacqui Park and her deputy Jane Worthington arrived home last Saturday after two days of interrogation.

AAP

 

  • கருத்துக்கள உறவுகள்

Lee Rhiannon, Jan Logie released after being detained in Sri Lanka

Date November 10, 2013 - 10:01PM
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MOR-lee-rhiannon-wide-201311101725145314

Detained in Sri Lanka: Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon. Photo: Katherine Griffiths

Australian Senator Lee Rhiannon has been released from the custody of Sri Lankan government officials and allowed to leave the country.

She was not charged, neither formally deported, though the Sri Lankan government maintains she and the New Zealand MP Jan Logie broke visa laws, a charge Ms Rhiannon denies.

Our detention highlights the Sri Lankan government is unwilling to allow a free exchange of ideas. 

"They did not require a statement from us, and we were given back our passports after about three hours in detention," she told Fairfax Media by phone as she drove to Colombo airport.

"The only condition they put on us was that we were not allowed to talk to the media without approval from [sri Lanka's] external affairs department."

Advertisement

Ms Rhiannon has allowed Fairfax Media to quote her interview.

Ms Rhiannon was in the country on a 'Special Projects' class Tourist Visa, which she says, as a visiting parliamentarian, she was advised to obtain.

"They said that we had broken the law, and I challenged them on that. We obtained the correct visa, we followed their advice on which visa to obtain, the Australian government alerted the Sri Lankan government to our visit and about what we'd be doing. We followed the rules at all times."

She says Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade also sent its Sri Lankan equivalent a formal note advising of her planned visit and activities.

Immigration chief Chulananda Perera said Ms Rhiannon and Ms Logie had broken visa laws.

"Both were in Sri Lanka on tourist visas and holding a press conference is a violation of visa regulations."

The officials took Ms Rhiannon and Ms Logie back to their hotel, and tried to separate them to interrogate them individually.

Ms Rhiannon resisted this, and rang Australia's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Robyn Mudie, for assistance.

Ms Rhiannon said she was not fearful for her safety, but was most worried for the people she had met with during her fact-finding mission to Sri Lanka, which included visits to the heavily-militarised north of the country.

"These people who we were with me when we were detained by immigration officials, they were very fearful, very distressed. They were uncertain about what would happen to them."

“This excessive response from the government of Sri Lanka is just further evidence why the country should not have been awarded the right to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, and the chair of CHOGM for two years.

“Our detention highlights the Sri Lankan government is unwilling to allow a free exchange of ideas.”

Ms Rhiannon said during her visit to Sri Lanka she had seen evidence of severe, and worsening, government repression.

“Elected officials and members of civil society in Sri Lanka have provided us with examples of massive illegal land confiscation by the armed forces; people being jailed and detained with regular disregard for legal rights; violence, often involving rape of women and children, with no police investigation of these crimes; and ongoing intimidation of media workers.”

Comment is being sought from the Sri Lankan immigration department.

Sri Lanka's human rights record is under intense scrutiny at present at it prepares to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which begins this week.

Countries such as Britain, Canada, the US and Australia have criticised the Sri Lankan government for ongoing abuses, such as kidnappings, torture, and alleged killings, by government security forces, and allied paramilitaries.

Greens Leader Christine Milne said she was "very relieved" Senator Rhiannon had been released.

"I'm looking forward to hearing her first-hand account," Senator Milne said.

"The Australian Greens called for a boycott of CHOGM in Sri Lanka earlier this year, as has the Canadian government, because of human rights abuses.

"It is clear from this fact-finding mission and the treatment of foreign journalists that the fears we have held for press freedom are justified.

"The Australian Government continues to turn a blind eye to human rights abuses in Sri Lanka which are continuing to drive a steady stream of people seeking asylum in Australia," she said.

Sri Lanka has been especially sensitive to media and political activities in the lead-up to CHOGM, which Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott will attend.

Last month, it detained two Australian journalist organisers who were meeting with journalist unions. They were interrogated for more than 15 hours before being deported.

The Australian government has been contacted but are yet to provide a statement.

With Dan Harrison

Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon leaves Sri Lanka after being detained ahead of CHOGM meeting

By South Asia correspondent Michael Edwards, staff, wires

Updated 8 hours 0 minutes ago

Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon has left Sri Lanka after she was detained on Sunday by immigration officials in the capital Colombo.

She has been in the country on a human rights fact-finding visit with New Zealand Greens MP Jan Logie ahead of this week's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

They travelled the country and attended a series of pro-democracy meetings before arriving back in Colombo where they met with a group of Tamil political activists on Sunday morning.

Senator Rhiannon has told the ABC that immigration officials raided the meeting and took her and Ms Logie back to their hotel.

They had their passports confiscated and were questioned for several hours before being allowed to leave the country.

In a series of tweets on Sunday evening, Senator Rhiannon's office confirmed she had boarded a flight back to Australia.

We have been told that Lee is on a plane back to Sydney from Sri Lanka just as we learn that India PM will not attend 
 - LR Office

— Lee Rhiannon (@leerhiannon) 

Senator Rhiannon says the harassment of an Australian politician is yet another reason why Prime Minister Tony Abbott should not attend CHOGM.

In a joint statement with Ms Logie she says human rights abuses in Sri Lanka are so serious that the CHOGM meeting should be scrapped.

"Elected officials and members of civil society in Sri Lanka have provided us with examples of massive illegal land confiscation by the armed forces; people being jailed and detained with regular disregard for legal rights; violence, often involving rape, of women and children with no police investigation of these crimes; and ongoing intimidation of media workers," the statement said.

"Large numbers of women regularly suffer sexual abuse perpetrated by members of the Sri Lankan armed forces.

"One lawyer described to us the evidence collected about these crimes. In one case they have text messages from Major General Mahinda Hathurusingha to the 'comfort women' he frequently abuses."

Publicly, the government says anyone can come here and see for themselves, but actually they don't want the world to know what is happening here.

Tamil lawmaker M A Sumanthiran

 

Tamil lawmaker M A Sumanthiran says Senator Rhiannon and Ms Logie had the right visas but the government is paranoid about foreigners looking into the country's dismal human rights record.

"They were accused of breaching visa conditions, but they had 'special projects visas' to be in Sri Lanka on a fact-finding mission," he said.

"Publicly, the government says anyone can come here and see for themselves, but actually they don't want the world to know what is happening here."

Earlier this month two Australian journalists had their passports held by Sri Lankan authorities for three days, after addressing local journalists about media issues.

Sri Lankan authorities questioned Jacqui Park and Jane Worthington at length for attending a press freedom workshop.

Leaders pull out of CHOGM meeting

Sri Lanka is controversially hosting this year's CHOGM event.

The Sri Lankan government, which defeated separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009, faces increasing international pressure to try those responsible for rights abuses during the nearly three-decade-long civil war.

In August, the United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay spent a week in Sri Lanka on a fact-finding mission.

She left saying democracy had been undermined after the end of the civil war, which by UN estimates claimed up to 100,000 lives including 40,000 civilians in the last few months of fighting.

Canada's prime minister Stephen Harper has already pulled out of CHOGM citing the country's human rights record.

Mr Harper says he is disturbed by continuing reports of intimidation and incarceration of political leaders and journalists, the harassment of minorities, reported disappearances and allegations of extra judicial killings.

Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh will also skip the meeting, according to India's foreign ministry.

Mr Singh's move is seen as bowing to pressure from India's own large Tamil population, with an eye to a general election that must be held by May 2014.

British prime minister David Cameron has said he will attend, but will demand an investigation into the human rights abuse accusations.

He says Sri Lanka's president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has serious questions to answer about alleged war crimes by government forces during the last months of the civil war.

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-10/greens-senator-lee-rhiannon-detained-by-officials-in-sri-lanka/5081840

  • கருத்துக்கள உறவுகள்

Green MP Jan Logie's passport confiscated by Sri Lankan officials
 

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SCCZEN_A_NZPA94682_220x147.jpg
Green MP Jan Logie. File photo / APN

Green Party MP Jan Logie says she is "safe'' after being detained by Sri Lankan authorities and her passport confiscated.

She was travelling with Australian senator Lee Rhiannon on a fact-finding trip to Sri Lanka in the leadup to Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Colombo.

Their trip was scheduled to end today and had the aim of finding out first-hand about the human rights abuses that the Sri Lankan people were experiencing, a Green Party spokesperson said.

Four Sri Lankan immigration officials shut down a meeting before the MPs' scheduled press conference and took Ms Logie's and Ms Rhiannon's passports.

Ms Logie told APNZ immigration officials told her and Ms Rhiannon that they had breached the Immigration Act, "which we have disagreed with because we applied for visas, we said we were Members of Parliament and we went for a category for special projects, which we were advised to do.

"Through the Department of Foreign Affairs in Australia we told them we were coming and what sort of visa we were on,'' she said.

"We don't consider that we've done anything to breach the act.''

The MPs are being detained at their hotel.

The officials wanted to separate the pair and get separate statements,

"We weren't comfortable doing that so we've called the Australian High Commission and we're waiting for their reply.''

There was lots of Sri Lankan media covering the story and the pair had not been ill-treated in any way, Ms Logie said.

"I think it highlights the lack of democracy in the country that talking about human rights is seen as something to shut down by this government.''

When speaking with media before leaving for the trip, Ms Logie said she had concerns about how officials would respond to her, because some members of the Australian media had been deported after it was discovered they were in Sri Lanka on tourist visas.

Ms Logie said she was travelling on a tourist visa, but there was a condition for special projects on that visa.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11154799

 

  • கருத்துக்கள உறவுகள்
11 Nov 2013
What Will It Take To Join The CHOGM Boycott?
By Trevor Grant

Senator Lee Rhiannon's detention in Sri Lanka for investigating abuses against Tamils should be the catalyst for Australia to boycott next week's CHOGM meeting in Colombo, writes Trevor Grant

Australian Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon has called on Prime Minister Tony Abbott to follow the lead of his Canadian and Indian counterparts in boycotting next week’s Commonwealth Head of Government meeting in Sri Lanka.

Rhiannon, who was detained and questioned in Sri Lanka at the weekend while on a fact-finding trip, said CHOGM should be withdrawn from Colombo because of the country’s human rights’ abuses. The harassment of an Australian politician was further evidence of why Abbott should not go, she said. A New Zealand MP from the country's Green Party, Jan Logie, was also detained.

Last Saturday week two Australian journalists, Jacqui Park and Jane Worthington, were deported from Sri Lanka for attending a meeting of journalists at the Free Media Movement in Colombo. Rhiannon, a long-time critic of the Sri Lankan government, was detained and questioned by government authorities for several hours after meeting with pro-democracy supporters and Tamil politicians.

Rhiannon and Logie issued a statement outlining information they received during discussions with Tamil politicians and pro-democracy activists. It included details of the sexual abuse suffered by large numbers of women in the country. The statement named a senior military officer as one of the abusers.

“Elected officials and members of civil society in Sri Lanka have provided us with examples of massive illegal land confiscation by the armed forces; people have been jailed and detained with regular disregard for legal rights; violence, often involving rape, of women and children with no police investigation of these crimes and on-going intimidation of media workers,” Rhiannon and Logie wrote.

“Large numbers of women regularly suffer sexual abuse perpetrated by members of the Sri Lankan armed forces. One lawyer described to us the evidence collected about these crimes."

Rhiannon said in a press conference this morning that she was only permitted to leave after signing a statement:

The Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, announced yesterday that he will not attend CHOGM, effectively dividing the Commonwealth powers over the issue. The Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper confirmed last month he would not attend because of the country’s failure to address human rights issues. His Foreign Minister, John Baird, described the decision to hold CHOGM in Colombo as “accommodating evil”.

The Queen will miss her first CHOGM in 40 years, sending Prince Charles in her place, but UK prime minister David Cameron will visit. Writing last week in the Tamil Guardian, Cameron explained that he would use the process to advocate for the human rights of Tamils:

"I will visit the north of the country – the first leader to do so since Sri Lankan independence in 1948 – precisely so that I can see the situation on the ground with my own eyes and meet people directly affected by the conflict.

"Recent progress on elections, reconstruction, demining and resettlement of those displaced by the conflict is important but it is frankly not enough. I will demand that the Sri Lankan government independently and transparently investigates alleged war crimes and allegations of continuing human rights abuses; guarantees freedom of expression; and stamps out intimidation of journalists and human rights defenders - including by bringing those responsible to justice."

He remains committed to the process, writing that "We want the Commonwealth to take action on the things that matter to the UK and we will not achieve that by sitting on the sidelines." Less than a week out from CHOGM and in the face of major boycotts, Australia and the UK look increasingly compromised by defending the meeting and the government of Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The rape and torture of Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka has been documented for many years by many reputable organisations, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Last year at the UN Human Rights Council, the Australian government acknowledged torture, disappearances and other forms of persecution were happening in the country, demanding Sri Lanka cease such practices. 

Yet the Abbott government, and its Labor predecessor, refused to follow through on this advice. Former foreign minister Bob Carr offered Sri Lanka Australia's help to organise CHOGM, but Prime Minister Tony Abbott went further when he recently chastised the Canadians for boycotting the biennial meeting.

“You do not make new friends by rubbishing your old friends or abandoning our old friends,” Abbott said of the Canadian boycott. 

Canadian Prime Minister Harper said last month his country was “deeply concerned” about the situation in Sri Lanka, citing a lack of accountability for “serious human rights abuses and international humanitarian standards.” He added he would not only be boycotting the meeting but, because CHOGM was going ahead in Colombo, Canada would be reviewing the $20 million it gives to the Commonwealth organisation each year.

The Federal Government's position on Sri Lanka has even precluded it from standing up for the democratic rights of its own citizens; Australians expect their government to object to the deportation of Australian journalists for attending press freedom conferences, and the detention of an Australian Senator who was collecting evidence about serious human rights abuses.

https://www.newmatilda.com/2013/11/11/what-will-it-take-join-chogm-boycott

 


Sri Lanka: Fact finding mission
Updated on Friday · Taken in Killinochchi, Sri Lanka
These photos were taken in a place in the north called Killinochchi, the former stronghold of the Tamils and now under Sri Lankan Government military occupation.

These photos show of Lee and Jan Logie meeting with Tamail National Alliance MPs.

On the first day of their fact finding, Lee and Jan travelled upto Jaffa in the very north of the Island. On day 2 they will return back to the South and continue their meetings.

These photos have been taken from this website: http://www.tamilwin.com/mshow-RUmrzBTcMZjq0.html. We hope that it is ok for us to use them as we wanted to post photos of what Lee and Jan have been upto in Sri Lanka as soon possible.

Senator Rhiannon said:

“Both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have said that Sri Lanka should not be awarded the two-year chairmanship of the Commonwealth after it hosts CHOGM.

“Australia continues to flaunt a friendship of cooperation and collaboration with Sri Lanka for its own domestic policy interests instead of putting pressure on the Rajapakse regime to stop its terror tactics, human rights violations, intimidations and threats to media freedom.

“More than four and a half years after the end of civil war, international human rights organisations are still producing alarming reports about the continuing human rights abuses in Sri Lanka.

“I will be reporting back to the Australian parliament on my findings."
2Like · · Share

 


Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon leaves Sri Lanka after being detained ahead of CHOGM meeting By South Asia correspondent Michael Edwards, staff, wires Updated 8 hr 14 min ago
 
Video 0:48

Lee Rhiannon had been attending meetings with pro-democracy activists.

ABC News

Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon has left Sri Lanka after she was detained on Sunday by immigration officials in the capital Colombo.

She has been in the country on a human rights fact-finding visit with New Zealand Greens MP Jan Logie ahead of this week's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

They travelled the country and attended a series of pro-democracy meetings before arriving back in Colombo where they met with a group of Tamil political activists on Sunday morning.

Senator Rhiannon has told the ABC that immigration officials raided the meeting and took her and Ms Logie back to their hotel.

They had their passports confiscated and were questioned for several hours before being allowed to leave the country.

In a series of tweets on Sunday evening, Senator Rhiannon's office confirmed she had boarded a flight back to Australia.

We have been told that Lee is on a plane back to Sydney from Sri Lanka just as we learn that India PM will not attend 
 - LR Office

— Lee Rhiannon (@leerhiannon) 

Senator Rhiannon says the harassment of an Australian politician is yet another reason why Prime Minister Tony Abbott should not attend CHOGM.

In a joint statement with Ms Logie she says human rights abuses in Sri Lanka are so serious that the CHOGM meeting should be scrapped.

"Elected officials and members of civil society in Sri Lanka have provided us with examples of massive illegal land confiscation by the armed forces; people being jailed and detained with regular disregard for legal rights; violence, often involving rape, of women and children with no police investigation of these crimes; and ongoing intimidation of media workers," the statement said.

"Large numbers of women regularly suffer sexual abuse perpetrated by members of the Sri Lankan armed forces.

"One lawyer described to us the evidence collected about these crimes. In one case they have text messages from Major General Mahinda Hathurusingha to the 'comfort women' he frequently abuses."

Publicly, the government says anyone can come here and see for themselves, but actually they don't want the world to know what is happening here.

Tamil lawmaker M A Sumanthiran

Tamil lawmaker M A Sumanthiran says Senator Rhiannon and Ms Logie had the right visas but the government is paranoid about foreigners looking into the country's dismal human rights record.

"They were accused of breaching visa conditions, but they had 'special projects visas' to be in Sri Lanka on a fact-finding mission," he said.

"Publicly, the government says anyone can come here and see for themselves, but actually they don't want the world to know what is happening here."

Earlier this month two Australian journalists had their passports held by Sri Lankan authorities for three days, after addressing local journalists about media issues.

Sri Lankan authorities questioned Jacqui Park and Jane Worthington at length for attending a press freedom workshop.

Leaders pull out of CHOGM meeting

Sri Lanka is controversially hosting this year's CHOGM event.

The Sri Lankan government, which defeated separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009, faces increasing international pressure to try those responsible for rights abuses during the nearly three-decade-long civil war.

In August, the United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay spent a week in Sri Lanka on a fact-finding mission.

She left saying democracy had been undermined after the end of the civil war, which by UN estimates claimed up to 100,000 lives including 40,000 civilians in the last few months of fighting.

Canada's prime minister Stephen Harper has already pulled out of CHOGM citing the country's human rights record.

Mr Harper says he is disturbed by continuing reports of intimidation and incarceration of political leaders and journalists, the harassment of minorities, reported disappearances and allegations of extra judicial killings.

Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh will also skip the meeting, according to India's foreign ministry.

Mr Singh's move is seen as bowing to pressure from India's own large Tamil population, with an eye to a general election that must be held by May 2014.

British prime minister David Cameron has said he will attend, but will demand an investigation into the human rights abuse accusations.

He says Sri Lanka's president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has serious questions to answer about alleged war crimes by government forces during the last months of the civil war.

ABC/AFP/Reuters

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-10/greens-senator-lee-rhiannon-detained-by-officials-in-sri-lanka/5081840

அப்போ உண்மையைக் கண்டறிய முடியவில்லை.

  • கருத்துக்கள உறவுகள்

அப்போ உண்மையைக் கண்டறிய முடியவில்லை.

 

இந்த இரண்டு பாராளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர்களும் தொடர்ந்து ஈழத்தமிழர்களுக்காகக் குரல் கொடுப்பவர்கள். இவர்கள் சிறிலங்கா செல்லாவிட்டாலும் அங்கு நடப்பவற்றை நன்றாகத் தெரிந்து வைத்திருக்கிறார்கள்.

Australian PM faces pressure to boycott Sri Lanka summit

 

CANBERRA, Australia -- Australia's prime minister was under mounting pressure Monday to join his Indian and Canadian counterparts in boycotting a British Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka this week over concerns about the island nation's human rights record.

 

India announced Sunday that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be the second leader after Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to boycott the Nov. 15-17 meeting. There are 54 members of the Commonwealth, a loose association of former British colonies.

 

Australian Senator Lee Rhiannon called on Prime Minister Tony Abbott to boycott the meeting after she and New Zealand lawmaker Jan Logie were prevented from holding a press conference on human rights issues in Colombo on Sunday by immigration officials who seized their passports and took them to their hotels for three hours of questioning.


Rhiannon, whose Greens party is not part of Australia's conservative coalition government, described the treatment as "unlawful," given she had an appropriate tourist visa and a letter from Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to the Sri Lankan government explaining her trip.

 

"I was very concerned that my liberty was denied to me for more than three hours," Rhiannon told reporters at Sydney Airport on Monday after arriving from Colombo.

 

She said the Australian delegation to the summit "should not be headed by Mr. Abbott as prime minister." Abbott's office did not immediately respond to the incident on Monday.

 

Human rights group Amnesty International said Rhiannon's detention confirms a pattern of continuing human rights abuses in Sri Lanka.

 

The APNZ news service reported that Logie said she was safe after her detention.

 

The decisions by the Indian and Canadian leaders to not attend the summit is expected to sharpen the focus on demands by Western nations and rights activists that Sri Lanka account for thousands of civilians who are suspected to have died in the final months of a quarter-century civil war that that ended in 2009 when government forces crushed separatist Tamil rebels.

 

Singh sent a letter to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa expressing his inability to attend the summit, said Syed Akbaruddin, the External Affairs Ministry spokesman. He did not divulge the contents of the letter.

 

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid will represent India at the summit, Akbaruddin said.

 

India, which has a major interest in the issue because southern India is home to 60 million Tamils, has been urging Sri Lanka's government to resume negotiations with an ethnic Tamil party on increased local autonomy for Tamils.

 

After the war, Rajapaksa promised to allow a greater degree of autonomy in Tamil-majority regions in the north. However, he has been criticized by foreign countries and rights groups for failing to deliver on his promises.

 

Harper said last month that Canada was disturbed by ongoing reports of intimidation and incarceration of political leaders and journalists, harassment of minorities, reported disappearances and allegations of extrajudicial killings.

 

http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/australian-pm-faces-pressure-to-boycott-sri-lanka-summit-1.1536794?utm_campaign=canpoli&utm_term=canpoli&utm_content=canpoli&utm_source=canpoli&utm_medium=canpoli

 

Australian Tamil Congress members on behalf of the Australian Tamil Community received Australian Senator Lee Rhiannon at Sydney International Airport after the senator was detained, had her passport confiscated & deported by Sri Lankan Immigration Officials.

The senator was taken into questioning as she was about to leave for a press conference with a fellow New Zealand MP regarding Sri Lanka's Human Rights situation.

The Senator was in Sri Lanka on a fact Finding mission. The actions of the Government of Sri Lanka is an insult to the dignity of the Australian parliament, hence senator Rhiannon has urged Tony Abbott to join Indian & Canadian Prime Minister's to boycott the Commonwealth Summit in Sri Lanka next week.

 

941296_559085677501466_1798140387_n.jpg

 

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Australian Tamil Congress

(facebook)

  • கருத்துக்கள உறவுகள்

சிறீலங்காவில், இரண்டு அவுதிரேலிய  பாராளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர்களுக்கு விழுந்த அடியில் பயந்து, யாழும் ஆங்கிலத்தில் அழுகிறது.

எல்லாமே ஆங்கலத்தில் இருக்கு!

தமிழ் ஊடகங்களில்மிதுகளை பொடுவதில்லையாமா?

ஓ ஒருவேளை திரித்து எளுத நெரம் எடுக்குமோ?

இது சிவ சங்கர் மேனனும், கமலேஸ் சர்மாவும் வைத்த ஆப்பு. நாமலிடம் நல்ல தெரிவான விளையாட்டுப்போட்டி கொடுக்கப்பட்டிருந்தது, அது கிடைக்கவில்லை. அது கிடைத்திருந்தால் நல்ல ஒரு புதையல். கோத்தாவுக்கு இரண்டாம் தெரிவான தலைவர்கள் மகாநாடு கொடுக்கப்பட்டிருந்தது. சிவ் சங்கர், கமலேஸ் சர்மா, அசோக் மேத்தா எல்லோரும் சேர்ந்து அதை இரண்டாம் அரசரின் தலையில் கட்டிவிட்டார்கள். அது ஒரே நேரத்தில் லாபமும் நட்டமாக கணக்கு இரண்டுபக்கமும் காட்டுகிறது. 

  • கருத்துக்கள உறவுகள்

அவுஸ்திரெலியா, சிறிலங்காவில் நடைபெறும் பொதுநலவாய மகாநாட்டினைப் புறக்கணிக்க வேண்டும் என்று இங்கிலாந்து கார்டியன் பத்திரிகைக்கு சொல்கிறார் லீ ரெய்னன்

  •  
My detention highlights why Australia should boycott Chogm
My detention by Sri Lankan authorities made headlines worldwide. The story will be old news tomorrow, but concerns about human rights will remain. Australia must act
  • leerhiannon.jpg
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6d263e48-b0c3-4d22-b5d7-c162e79dadc5-460Australian Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon returns to Australia after being detained by Sri Lankan immigration officials. Photograph: Jane Dempster/AAP

I went to Sri Lanka to be the voice the Australian government has refused to be. The voice that speaks of the human rights abuses that the Sri Lankan government is allegedly involved in. The voice that is part of a growing international call for an independent investigation into war crimes allegations following a brutal civil war in which more than approximately 40,000 Tamils were killed over five months in 2009. The voice of leadership that says Australia will not reward Sri Lanka for cracking down on journalists, human rights activists, minority ethnic and religious groups.

What I saw in Sri Lanka has convinced me that Australia needs to show courage and boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm), as the prime ministers of Canada and India are doing.

The determination of the Australian government, first under Labor and now the Coalition, to defend the Sri Lankan government’s line – that there are no human and legal rights abuses taking place in the country – motivated me to go and learn first-hand about the reality on the ground. I was very pleased to be able to travel with New Zealand Green MP Jan Logie. We had hoped to travel with a Malaysian MP, however Sri Lanka did not grant him a visa in time. I notified the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of my intention to travel, and they had informed the government of Sri Lanka of my trip.

We arrived on Friday after midnight and were taken straight to Vavuniya, a town in the north, roughly a five hour drive. We then had a series of meetings with elected representatives including ministers, MPs and members of the Provincial Council as we continued north to Jaffna. We also visited a newspaper office, where we learnt of shootings and intimidation of local journalists reporting on human rights issues. On several occasions, the extent of the sexual abuse of Tamil women by Sri Lankan soldiers was brought to our attention. We met a lawyer who described to us the evidence collected about these horrendous crimes. Large areas of Tamil land are now occupied by the military. The level of hardship for women and their dependents is shocking. More than 40,000 households in the north and east of the country are now female -headed, and few of them receive any government assistance if they cannot find work.

Our subsequent detention, which has received extraordinary media attention in Australia and overseas, occurred on the last day of our visit. We had begun a series of meetings with representatives of various civil society organisations at 8am, and were planning to hold a press conference at 10.30am. At 9.45am, two immigration officers interrupted our meetings and requested our passports, which we handed over. A further two immigration officers arrived and we were told to go back to our hotel. No reason for our detention was provided – the immigration officials simply stated they had wide discretionary powers.

At the hotel they attempted to separate Jan and myself and take us to different rooms for questioning, but we refused to cooperate. Journalists had arrived by then, but were prohibited from speaking to us. In the meantime, more immigration officers arrived. About three hours later we were told we could leave on the condition that we did not talk to the media without permission from Sri Lanka’s foreign affairs department. Their initial condition was that they would not release us without some kind of statement from us, which we refused to do.

While I did not fear for my personal safety, I was very aware that my lack of fear was largely due to my foreign passport and the fact that I am an Australian senator. Now I am back safe in Australia with my family and loved ones. By tomorrow, what happened to Jan and I will be old news. However the suffering of the Tamils, human rights activists and journalists at the hands of the government of Sri Lanka will continue. We have a responsibility to ensure they are not forgotten. 

The findings of my visit to Sri Lanka trip and my detention has highlighted to me the reasons why Australia must not attend Chogm. If the conservative Canadian prime minister and the Indian prime minister can boycott the meeting while citing concerns regarding alleged war crimes and human rights abuses, Australia can too. If prime minister Abbott refuses to downgrade our delegation and attends Chogm, he should demand a full and independent investigation into war crimes – a call supported by British prime minister David Cameron.

If Chogm goes ahead with Australia’s full participation and Sri Lanka is made chair of organisation, the Commonwealth will have failed the people of Sri Lanka and damaged its own high standing with the international community.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/11/my-detention-highlights-why-australia-should-boycott-the-commonwhealth-sumit

இலங்கையில் மனித உரிமை மீறல்கள் தொடர்கின்றன ; நாடு திரும்பிய லீ ரைனொன் தெரிவிப்பு
1a299fa9ff7e315846a80bf12ef9f425.jpg

இலங்கைக்கு விஜயம் செய்த என்னை இலங்கை அரசு சட்டரீதியற்ற வகையில் நடத்தியதாகவும்,  தொடர்ந்தும் மனித உரிமை மீறல்கள் தொடர்வதாகவும் அவுஸ்திரேலிய கீரீன் கட்சி நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர் லீ ரைனொன் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

இலங்கையிக்கு விஜயம் ஒன்றை மேற்கொண்டிருந்த நிலையில் அதிகாரிகளால் கைது செய்யப்பட்ட பின்னர் நாடு திரும்பிய அவர் இந்தக் கருத்தை வெளிப்படுத்தியுள்ளார்.

தாமும் நியூஸிலாந்தின் நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினரும் விசேட கருமம் ஒன்றுக்காகவே சுற்றுலா வீசாவில் இலங்கைக்கு வருகை தந்ததாகவும், இந்த நிலையில் தம்மை தடுத்து வைத்தமையானது தமது உரிமையை மீறியுள்ளதாக ரைனொன் தெரிவித்தார்.

இதேவேளை இலங்கையில் தொடர்ந்தும் மனித உரிமைகள் மீறல்கள் தொடர்வதாகவும், அங்கு போர் மீறல்கள் விசாரணை செய்யப்படவேண்டும் .மேலும் இலங்கை அரசாங்கம் தமது நாட்டின் செய்திகள் வெளியில் செல்வதை தடுக்கும் நடவடிக்கைகளில் ஈடுபட்டுள்ளது என்றும் அவர் குறிப்பிட்டார்.

எனவே பொதுநலவாய கொழும்பு மாநாட்டுக்கு அவுஸ்திரேலிய பிரதமர் செல்லக்கூடாது என்றும் ரைனொன் கோரிக்கை விடுத்துள்ளார்.

- See more at: http://www.onlineuthayan.com/News_More.php?id=828852436610715803#sthash.xbXS6poI.dpuf

 

  • கருத்துக்கள உறவுகள்

"சுதந்திரத்தைச் சுவாசிக்கிறேன்" - இலங்கையிலிருந்து நாடுகடத்தப்பட்ட செனட்டர் லீ ரீயனன்

உண்மையைக் கண்டறியும் பணியில் இலங்கைத் தீவிற்குச் சென்றிருந்த செனட்டர் லீ ரீயனனும், நியூசீலாந்து நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர், ஜான் லோகி அவர்களும் இலங்கையின் வட மாநிலத்திற்குச் சென்று திரும்பிவிட்டு, கொழும்பில் ஒரு பத்திரிகையாளர் மாநாட்டைக் கூட்டி அதில் பேசுவதற்குச் சற்று நேரத்திற்கு முன்னால் இலங்கை அதிகாரிகளால் தடுத்துவைக்கப்பட்டு நாடு கடத்தப்பட்டுள்ளார்கள்.

செனட்டர் லீ ரீயனன் சிட்னி விமானநிலையத்தை வந்தடைந்தபின்னர், அவரது இலங்கைப்பயணம் குறித்து எமது நிகழ்ச்சித் தயாரிப்பாளர் குலசேகரம் சஞ்சயனிடம் கருத்துத் தெரிவிக்கிறார்.

http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/tamil/highlight/page/id/300041/t/Happy-to-be-home-where-I-enjoy-my-rights/

  • கருத்துக்கள உறவுகள்

பசுமைக்கட்சியினர் தொடர்ந்து ஈழத்தமிழர்களுக்காக் குரல் கொடுத்து வருகிறார். ஆனால் அவுஸ்திரெலியா வாழ் ஈழத்தமிழர்களில் பெரும்பாலோர் சென்ற தேர்தலில் லிபரல் கட்சிக்கே வாக்களித்திருக்கிறார்கள். (2009க்குப் பிறகு நான் பசுமைக்கட்சிக்கே வாக்களித்து வருகிறேன்.) லிபரல் கட்சியினைச் சேர்ந்த் ரொனி அபோட் தற்பொழுது பிரதமராக இருக்கிறார். சிறிலங்கா சரியான பாதையில் செல்கிறது. சிறிலங்காவில் நடைபெறும் பொதுநலவாய மகாநாட்டில் கலந்து கொள்வேன். அவுஸ்திரெலியா மற்றைய நாடுகளுக்கு மனித உரிமைகள் பற்றி பாடம் கற்பிக்காது என்று சொல்லியிருக்கிறார்.

Sri Lanka makes rights progress: Abbott

Just days out from the opening of CHOGM, Prime Minister Tony Abbott is resisting calls to boycott the summit over Sri Lanka's human rights abuses.
Source
AAP
 

Prime Minister Tony Abbott won't be joining other world leaders in a boycott of the Commonwealth summit, saying Australia shouldn't be giving lectures to other countries about human rights.

The prime ministers of Canada and India are boycotting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which will be opened by Prince Charles in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo on Friday.

Other leaders including British PM David Cameron have resisted domestic political pressure not to make the trip, arguing it is better to engage the island nation rather than isolate it.

Human rights groups have raised concerns Sri Lanka has failed to properly investigate troops over allegations they killed up to 40,000 Tamil civilians in the final months of the separatist war in 2009.

There are also concerns about politically-motivated kidnappings and harassment of journalists.

Mr Abbott, who will be in Colombo on Friday after the first week of parliament in Canberra, said he respected the Commonwealth as an institution.

"I certainly don't want us to trash one of the very long-standing and important bodies that we are a senior member of," Mr Abbott said on Monday.

Sri Lanka had been through a horrific civil war involving atrocities on both sides, but he was "not inclined to go overseas and give other countries lectures".

"My understanding is that ordinary civil society is resuming in the Tamil parts of Sri Lanka," he said.

"I will be urging the Sri Lankan government to respect everyone's rights but I will also be acknowledging a lot of progress has been made."

Mr Abbott said Sri Lanka had been cooperative in taking back people arriving by boat and Australia needed to maintain the "best possible relations" with the country.

Australian Greens leader Christine Milne said Mr Abbott was putting his asylum seeker policy ahead of human rights.

"What Tony Abbott is saying is he is not prepared to jeopardise his accelerated screening process by standing up for human rights," she said.

Sri Lankan immigration authorities briefly detained Australian Greens senator Lee Rhiannon and New Zealand MP Jan Logie at their Colombo hotel on Sunday before they were due to hold a press conference.

They were on a fact-finding mission into alleged rights abuses, and were questioned about alleged visa violations before being allowed to fly home.

"I was very concerned that my liberty was denied to me for more than three hours," Senator Rhiannon said when she arrived back in Sydney on Monday.

 

 

She said the Australian delegation shouldn't attend the CHOGM.

"The war crimes need to be investigated; the crimes against humanity clearly continue, the evidence is very strong," she said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop, who will also be in Colombo this week, said she was encouraging all Commonwealth nations to attend the CHOGM and engage with Sri Lanka.

"Progress has been made (on human rights), but there's clearly more to be done," she said.

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2013/11/11/sri-lanka-makes-rights-progress-abbott

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