Australian Parliamentary Petition on Sri Lanka calls for the Rejection of UNSG Report
Posted on September 6th, 2011
MEDIA RELEASE ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” 05 September 2011(Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights for Sri Lanka Inc)
A petition signed by 1,342 citizens and residents of Australia was tabled in the House of Representatives on Monday 22 August 2011, requesting the Australian Federal Parliament to reject the divisive report of the UN Secretary General Ban-Ki MoonƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s arbitrary panel and to endorse Sri Lanka’s initiative to conduct its own investigations. It also called on Australia to increase economic and humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka.
The Petition, which was co-ordinated by the Society for Peace Unity and Human Rights for Sri Lanka (SPUR), was supported by a number of Sri Lankan organisations and individuals across several states in Australia.
Ranjith Soysa (Spokesman)
The full text of the Petition is given below.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sri Lanka
To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:
This petition of certain citizens and residents of Australia brings to the attention of the House that two years ago, Sri Lanka freed itself from the separatist terrorism of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which is banned by the international community. The UNHRC commended Sri Lanka in May 2009 for ending the conflict and saving 300,000 Tamil civilians held as a human shield by the LTTE. Tamils who faced the brunt of the war are now settling down to normalcy with democratic rights to elect their own representatives. Large scale economic development, de-mining, restoring war damaged infrastructure, rehabilitation of LTTE cadres and resettlement of IDPs have been commended by international observers. More work is to be done and we gratefully acknowledge Australia’s contribution towards these achievements.
Sri Lanka has initiated its own Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) to investigate all aspects of the conflict with a view to ethnic reconciliation. But ignoring UNHRC’s resolution and the LLRC, the UN Secretary-General has arbitrarily appointed a three-man panel of persons with known anti-Sri Lanka sentiments. Their report, based on hearsay of anonymous sources, is threatening to undermine the ongoing reconciliation process.
We therefore request the House to:
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚· Reject the divisive report of the UNSG’s arbitrary panel.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚· Endorse Sri Lanka’s initiative to conduct its own investigations.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚· Increase Australian economic and humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚· Develop mutually beneficial links between Australia and Sri Lanka.
from 1,342 citizens
Hansard Link:http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/genpdf/chamber/hansardr/c98fcd9b-9e94-4cb9-b317
September 7th, 2011 at 2:44 pm
Well done, SPUR!
September 9th, 2011 at 11:05 am
This is a very good idea Ranjit. I suggest that all patriotic Sri Lankans living in the different states of the USA, Canada, UK, France, Germany and Italy should also adopt this format and follow this example. We should also give our opinion to the legislature. I feel that in these countries the legislature thinks that the only Sri Lankans in their respective countries are the LTTE supporting Tamil Sri Lankans. These countries are the legitimate home to many Patriotic Sri Lankans who have been unseen and unheard of upto now. We should also make our voices heard and our opinions known.
September 9th, 2011 at 11:23 am
Only 1342 signatures? That does not look good.