A senior Australian military official boasted that not a single boat of asylum seekers looking to leave from Sri Lanka to Australia had been intercepted in over a year, despite Tamils continuing to flee the island in the wake of ongoing rights abuses.
Deputy Commander of Joint Agency Task Force Operation Sovereign Borders of Australia, Commander Mark Whitechurch, told an audience in Colombo last month that his military “must remain vigilant”, as it continued to enact policies to deter asylum seekers.
He made these comments during the launch of a joint maritime security operation entitled ‘Disi Rela, which means “keeping a watchful eye over the maritime environment” in Sinhala.
The new joint activity will see the Australian Border Force (ABF) and Department of Sri Lanka Coast Guard (SLCG) undertake a week-long programme of work, from Dikkowita to Chilaw.
“We often refer to the Australian-Sri Lankan relationship as gold standard,” said Commander Joint Agency Task Force Operation Sovereign Borders, Rear Admiral Brett Sonter.
“The launch of ‘Disi Rela’ takes it to a platinum level. I am looking forward to the opportunities it presents to our respective countries with regards to countering maritime security threats.”
Sri Lanka received a boat from Australia in 2014.
Australia has worked extremely closely with the Sri Lankan armed forces, despite its history of mass atrocities, as it looks to deter asylum seekers from entering the country. This includes gifting boats to the Sri Lankan navy.
Last year, the Australian government came under fire after a poster was spotted in Jaffna warning of death if Tamil refugees sought to flee the island for Australia.
Images posted on social media show a billboard warning against fleeing to Australia, stating “Don't be in a hurry for your funeral”. “If you are caught, you will perish,” the poster adds, with amangala thoranam leaves in the backdrop. The leaves are traditionally displayed at Tamil funeral homes.
In 2019, the Australian government was also found to have created fake horoscopes, as part of an advertising campaign to discourage those fleeing Sri Lanka from coming to the country.
Meanwhile, as recently as last month Tamils have continued to flee the island, with many heading North to Tamil Nadu in India.
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