Kicking the ants nest

Incredibly Australia appears determined to compound its past errors. It has been reported that Australia has sent a team to engage with the Sri Lankan government on ways of preventing Tamils coming to Australia and seeking refugee status.

The Sri Lankan government is facing pressure from the UN, Amnesty International and the British government for an investigation into war crimes committed by the Sinhalese army over the past four months.

The Opposition spokesperson on Immigration, Sharman Stone, has called for some internally displaced Tamils to be given temporary protection visas in Australia; an act of faith that assumes Sri Lanka will soon revert to a tolerant society. This proposal ignores the Sinhalese chauvinism and racism that led to the civil war and which after “victory” is stronger than ever.

The proposal also ignores the disaster that the last use of temporary protection visas engendered. Refugees were brought out from Kosovo in 1999, some 4,000, amid much fanfare from the Howard government; most were sent back in tears 11 months later. Some 500 refused and they were locked up in Immigration detention. Nothing was achieved with the empty gesture. Their trauma was increased. And Sharman Stone proposes to do it all again. Under Stone, Liberal Party refugee policy is a disgrace.

A far better arrangement involving both compassion and common sense would be for the Australian government to consult with members of the Tamil community to facilitate the permanent settlement of displaced Tamils with relatives in Australia. Such an arrangement would ensure maximum care for traumatised families and a more secure base from which to rebuild shattered lives.

In marked contrast to the fearful and mean spirited Australian mission to Colombo, senior Indian officials are holding talks with senior Sri Lankan Ministers, including the President, to seek assurances on the proper treatment of the wretched Tamils. Surely Australia could behave with a modicum of decency, but it that seems Kevin Rudd has little interest in human rights. Our weakness of character is noted.

India looks at Australia with a cynical eye.