ABC National Radio-360 Documentary ‘Whatever happened to OV78?’
Posted on August 20th, 2010
Vajeera Warnakulasuriya Melbourne
To the attention of Mr. Brent Clough, Presenter 360 Documentaries
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ This is in response to your documentary that went on air on the 14th August 2010 in 360 Program under the heading ‘Whatever happened to OV78?’
It is obvious you have been canvassing on behalf of the asylum seekers to confirm that they are genuine ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-refugeesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ who deserve settlement in Australia.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Link for Audio
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Link for the Transcript:-
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ http://www.abc.net.au/rn/360/docs/OV78.pdf
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ What I noticed queer about your persistent follow up of the ultimate out come of the 68 so called refugees who came in Oceanic Viking that was intercepted by the Australian coast guards and escorted back to Indonesia for visa processing! Then Prime Minister Mr.Kevin Rudd intervened to overcome a deadlock and assured after proper processing if the Department of Immigration is convinced they are legitimate refugees they will be settled within three to four weeks time in Australia and countries that take refugees under the UN Charter.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ As per your documentary, some have been settled in Australia, but for some unknown reason your mind is not at ease until you see all those came in that boat is settled in some Western country. On the surface it looks a magnanimous effort, if you have taken this task on your initiative to see this through, it is remarkable, what if you have been tasked or assignedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ by someone or a body to do so, then you have become a cats paw for some ones dirty work! If you have been hired to dig into the outcome of the movement of these refugees, then you have done this to receive payments! ItƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s time you prick yourself and assess what you have been taken for!
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Surely there are thousands of homeless, jobless true blue Aussies sleeping in parks, under the bridges, cardboard boxes and in culverts eating from the garbage bins or starving, did your heart bled for them? Did you think of making a documentary canvassing to alleviate their sorrowful predicament? No! ThereƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s no money coming for that!
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ How strange to hear arranging a clandestine meeting with one of those chaps now residing in a suburb of Sydney, Australia! This chap Bali, who was interviewed had left Sri Lanka in 2006 and since then he had been living in Indonesia for a year and a half, that works out to July 2008, how come he became a passenger in this boat in question which left in late 2009? ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ If he left Sri Lanka in 2006, how can he talk of not going back to internment camps that started in early 2009 for fear of death. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Why would a genuine refugee who has got the clearance from the Department of Immigration be scared to come in the open to be interviewed? Unless there was no proper filtering system by the Department and he happens to be a hardcore terrorist.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ A chap who had fled from a country of twenty odd million people and who had lived in a remote area in the North or East expects that another Sri Lankan would recognize him? Surely this chap has to be a very famous, popular figure such as right or left hand man of the dead LTTE leader, still such a man is not known to a casual Sri Lankan who may see him. However, only Sri Lankans that would recognize him would be Tamils who have come from the same area he has been living. Surely, his own people would not let him down, after all they helped him to get to this point even if he happened to be a hard core LTTE cadre. Would a refugee from any other country who resides in Australia behave like that? ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ So then, this is all hype to dress you as a fool to get your sympathy which will naturally flow to the gullible public! In any case how would you know that this chap was a refugee from the boat? Then you spoke to a chap in America and one in Rumania, you wouldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t know who you were speaking to, couldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t it be a well orchestrated scenario to spellbind you? This man is incapable of creating this atmosphere, it is those who arranged this meeting directed the scenario, knowing you would not least suspect their cunning scheme, and hence your well concocted sob story would go to air, so that they could pressure the government of the day to allow them to be settled in Australia. Perhaps this documentary will qualify you to receive the famous Walkley Award for media journalism in Australia. Is that why you made this intriguing?
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ After transferring them to Oceanic Viking, having travelled in a boat, supposed to be not seaworthy, having put the life at stake without expect to live let alone having a morsel of food, and now, their audacity in complaining and demanding for food is amazing! Then another refugee ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-RaviƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ who is now in Melbourne suburb says ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-They did not provide us with enough food. We thought we may be starved to deathƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. He had no fear being drowned at sea, does that mean the boat was sea worthy, they only sabotaged it once entering the Australian waters? So that unsuspecting Border Patrol will rescue them.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ These chaps were pretending that they have been living in luxury in the conflict zones for last three decades in Sri Lanka and that the Australian Government has an obligation to keep maintaining the same standard even in transit! The people who flee a country during troubled times are ignorant of the rights they may have under detention, this fact should have been evident to these interviewers once they have seen these chaps! it is the Tamil LTTE Diaspora who organized these trips who coached these people via satellite mobiles that gave the confidence for these refugees to behave in this manner.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The recent vessel Sun Sea that berthed in British Colombian waters in Canada was carrying nearly five hundred ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-economic MigrantsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ pretending as refugees. Apparently they have each paid $20,000 ~ $40,000 US for this trip from Thailand. The Canadian border guards have now found that this vessel was organized by the LTTE Tamil Diaspora in Canada with the understanding that these refugees once settled in Canada must repay to the passage. The Canadian Government is now investigating the scheme to fish out the culprits.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
Prime Minister Stephen Harper echoed those words Tuesday by stating that Ottawa ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-will not hesitate to strengthen the lawsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ in order to tackle the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-trendƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ of would-be refugees arriving via human-smuggling ships.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
This information can be readƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ on attached links:-
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/tighter-immigration-laws-will-sink-refugee-ships/article1677694/
http://www.canada.com/news/Tamil+migrants+paid+each+passage+minister+says/3403965/story.html
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Minister of Public Safety Vic Toews said his officials had advised him the Tamil Tigers rebel organization was behind the operation, which he said was driven by profit motives.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
Unfortunately, Australian Administration is either ignorant to these tactics of the Tamil Diaspora in Australia or they have been fooled beyond apprehension so that they believe these asylum seekers are genuine! I am confident these chaps are having a hearty laugh on the gullibility of the Authority. I deeply regret our attempts to educate the relevant authorities in the government have failed miserably!
I hope you would ponder on these revelations and analysis for a better understanding of the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-refugeeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ issue.
So that you won’t fall prey to the manipulators who employ you get their leg work done!ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Regards
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Vajeera Warnakulasuriya
Melbourne