Ranjith Soysa Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights for Sri Lanka (Victoria)

As a collective of organisations representing Australians of Sri Lankan origin, we welcome the comments on Sri Lanka made by the former Australian Prime Minister Mr. Tony Abbot in a recent article to the Quadrant Magazine entitled ‘I Was Right on National Security’.

In particular, Mr Abbots statement that ‘Australia didn’t join the human rights lobby against the tough but probably unavoidable actions taken to end one of the world’s most vicious civil wars’ resonates well with all Sri Lankans who endured the three-decade long campaign of terror waged by the LTTE to carve-out a separate mono-ethnic state of Tamil Eelam from the North and the East of Sri Lanka.  During this period, thousands of Sri Lankans from all ethnic backgrounds were killed by the LTTE using various violent means including the bombing of public buses, trains, buildings and roads.  Untold damage was also caused to the infrastructure of the country and places of religious worship including World Heritage protected sites.

Mr. Abbot’s comment that ‘the balance between civil liberties and national security does have to shift while there are people in our midst pledged to do us harm’ is applicable to many nations currently facing complex situations as it was to Sri Lanka.

As he says, ‘The problem is not just terrorism but those who would justify or excuse terrorism without actually advocating it’.  This is a strong reminder to the Tamil Tiger diaspora and the LTTE apologists masquerading as Refugee and Human Rights Advocates as well as to other anti Sri Lankan activists, including a number of misguided Australian politicians and journalists, that they too are accountable for the destruction heaped on the people of Sri Lanka.  Not surprisingly, they are the very groups that have been quick to criticise Mr. Abbot for his support of Sri Lanka’s political and territorial integrity.

We also endorse the former Prime Minister view that ‘A country that can’t control its borders sooner or later loses control of its future’.  The gift of two Australian Bay Class Patrol Boats to Sri Lanka and the joint operations between the two nations have already enhanced maritime security and reduced people smuggling in the region.

As recent events in Europe show, countries with little or no border control are increasingly being exploited by economic migrants and those with links to international terrorism.  Those who advocate the building of a land bridge and/or tunnel between Sri Lanka and the overtly hostile Indian State of Tamil Nadu should take serious note of this warning.

In conclusion, we gratefully acknowledge the economic and moral support extended by successive Australian Governments to the fellow Commonwealth nation of Sri Lanka and hope that this continues into the future.

Ranjith Soysa

(Coordinator)

Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights for Sri Lanka (Victoria) / Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights for Sri Lanka (NSW) / Society for Peace, Unity and Rehab: in Sri Lanka (WA)/ Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights in Sri Lanka (QLD) / Viru Daru Diriya Fund (Victoria)/ Sinhala Cultural Association (ACT)