Letter to the Member for Fremantle on Her Motion in Aust Parliament Calling for an Inquiry into the Conduct of the GOSL
Posted on June 7th, 2009

JANAKI CHANDRARATNA Perth Western Australia

Dear Ms Parke

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

I am writing this letter in response to your Private MemberƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s motion in the Australian Parliament on 1 June 2009.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

I am an Australian citizen of Sri Lankan Sinhalese origin and thousands of my fellow countrymen like me are mostly Australian Labor Party supporters.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I am surprised, like many of my colleagues, that you have brought the above motion against the democratically elected Govt. of Sri Lanka (GOSL). Your actions cause us deep disappointment. Furthermore as secretary to the parliamentary friendship group with Sri Lanka, a group which we looked up for genuine support this indeed is a sad betrayal. Over the years this group has stood up for the integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

I was glad to note that you are not a supporter of the LTTE. Nevertheless, it is sad that you have not validated your facts before the tabling the motion. It appears you have relied on the biased web sites as Tamilnet and the disgruntled Tamil Diaspora which is infiltrated by the LTTE.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

Your motion was for an:

  • International investigation into war crimes alleged to have been committed by GOSL and LTTE
  • ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Unimpeded access to UN and other humanitarian agencies to the Internally Displaced PeoplesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ (IDP) camps to provide necessary aid.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

I like to bring to you the following facts for your consideration, for each of the above items.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

War crimes

1ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  You claim that there is reliable evidence to support an investigation for war crimes against GOSL. You however, failed to name the source of the evidence as the UN has already disregarded fabricated media reports about this insinuation as unsupportable.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

2ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  You appear to disregard the UNHRC resolution which praised the GOSL for defeating the most ruthless terrorist organisation in the world and liberating an estimate of 300,000 civilians from the LTTE atrocities without a much touted ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”bloodbathƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

3ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I agree that UN should be given the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”scope to perform its roleƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. It is unfortunate however as an ex UN agent you chose to ignore and discount/misinterpret the very decisions the UN has taken with regard to Sri Lanka.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

4ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  In view of 3 above, I am at a loss to understand why you have opted to move this motion. I can only surmise that you are pushing UNHRC High CommissionerƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s agenda for some reason. Obviously you have not caught on to the fact that the High Commissioner is an ethnic Tamil, reeking with conflicts of interests, focussed on an agenda to discredit GOSL for defeating the terrorists.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

In normal circumstances one would expect the High Commissioner to disassociate herself on the Sri Lankan issue because of her ethnicity and allow someone independent to discuss the matter. Unfortunately, I hope you would agree that these unethical practices tend to mar the integrity and objectivity of the UN.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

5ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  You also have failed to present the fact that GOSL took an extra three months to wipe out the terrorists because of the civilians. It is unfortunate that you have presented a biased view to the unsuspecting Parliament.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

Access to UN agencies

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

6ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It appears that you have forgotten that the terrorist war ended only 2 weeks prior to the tabling of your motion. This obviously is not an opportune moment to exhibit the IDPs who are weary of LTTE atrocities to hundreds of NGOs who wish to make capital out of their misery.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

7ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It indeed is a big challenge for GOSL to de-mine the North and resettle the IDPs. If UN agencies and other NGOs are keen to assist the IDPs they should do so through the normal Govt. channels, respecting the sovereignty of Sri Lanka.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

8ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  You also appear to be unaware of the fact that the terrorist activities in Sri Lanka progressed to a full scale war because of the NGO support. Many NGOs were on the LTTE payroll disseminating false propaganda to muster support from the unsuspecting world. It is not surprising that GOSL is not keen to follow an open door policy and provide unlimited access to the unscrupulous NGOs to take advantage of our country for the second time.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

In conclusion I can only request you to withdraw your motion from Parliament, as it lacks substance, flies against the UN resolution and also gives the wrong impression that the Australian Parliament is providing tacit approval to LTTE terrorists of the Tamil Diaspora. I also fear the ethnic violence that can arise from your action as it is in other cities of the world where there had been unintended support by the respective governments to LTTE supporters in the Tamil Diaspora.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

Please do not act in a way to create enmity between the communities both here and in Sri Lanka. We are committed to living as peace loving citizens ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Sri Lanka regardless of our ethnic origins. Please do not act in a way to rekindle divisive sentiments in human groupings.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

JANAKI CHANDRARATNA Perth Western Australia

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

One Response to “Letter to the Member for Fremantle on Her Motion in Aust Parliament Calling for an Inquiry into the Conduct of the GOSL”

  1. gdesilva Says:

    It would be interesting to know whether Melissa Parke would respond to your letter. I never got a response to mine – but of course, I was not as diplomatic as you were! May I suggest that you also write to Don Randall (Liberal MP for Canning), the only MP who spoke in support of Sri Lanka and spoke against this motion.

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