The quality of mercy

The Sri Lankan Government is bent on retribution of the vanquished Tamils. It is a racist, vindictive and ugly campaign. It is bullying. Tamils living in Australia have been the subject of abusive Sinhalese emails and so have I. The reason Sri Lanka found itself embroiled in a civil war was the violence and bullying directed at Tamils.

There is no move toward reconciliation. As a sop to international public opinion the government of Sri Lanka established a "Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission". The Report of the UN Secretary General's Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka, found earlier this year that "...the LLRC fails to satisfy key international standards of independence and impartiality...In sum, the LLRC is deeply flawed, does not meet international standards for an effective accountability mechanism and, therefore, does not and cannot satisfy the joint commitment of the President of Sri Lanka and the Secretary-General to an accountability process."

Amnesty International says, "Nevertheless in the face of domestic and international pressure, including from such allies as India, the Sri Lankan government has still refused to make a credible effort to seek accountability. Instead, as it has done often in the past two decades, the Sri Lankan government has established an ad hoc special commission, ostensibly to investigate and address wrong doing, but in fact to deflect international pressure and silence internal critics...In October 2010, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Crisis Group declined an invitation to testify before the LLRC, noting its severe shortcomings, including the Commissions inadequate mandate, insufficient guarantees of independence and lack of witness protection."

From 1956 until 2008 there were 292 cases of state sponsored violence against the Tamil community. These attacks are all on the public record. These attacks were eventually met with acts of indiscriminate violence, often amounting to acts of terror, by Tamils. But state sponsored indiscriminate violence also amounts to acts of terror. The one sided view of history peddled by the Sri Lankan Government and its High Commission in Australia needs to be re-assessed by the Australian Government on behalf of all Tamils rotting in Australian detention facilities; and once re-assessed the Sri Lankan High Commission should be asked to cease its lobbying and special pleadings.

As the friends of Denisan and Antonet say, "Seeing the Australian public is paying for their permanent detention, we are entitled to know what they have done and if necessary see them charged in a court of law. As they have been observed 24 hours a day and all their communications accessible to ASIO and Serco over the years they have been in detention, there should be clear evidence by now against them, if ASIO adverse reports have any substance."

The quality of mercy is not strain'd;

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

In Australia in recent times it has become very strained.

What about showing Denisan and Antonet some. Let them have a life.