44 asylum seekers, who attempted to flee from Sri Lanka to Australia, have been intercepted and arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).
The asylum seekers, all Tamil, included two boys aged four and seven, who were released to their grandparents, after being bailed out for 100,000 rupees.
The remaining refugees have not been brought before a court as of yet, and are being held in a detention camp reported The Age.
Sri Lanka’s detention laws have come under increased scrutiny, as Sri Lanka apparently ended Emergency Laws, but replaced them with equally strict legislature while holding onto the PTA.
The tactic was labelled “a cynical ‘bait and switch’” and brought Sri Lanka under greater international pressure to end such "draconian" legislation.
The Sri Lankan Navy’s capture of the asylum seekers received praise from the Australian High Commissioner Kathy Klugman, but also drew much criticism from human rights groups and other Australian politicians.
John Dowd, president of the International Commission of Jurists and former NSW Liberal attorney-general urged Australia to do more to protect the rights of asylum seekers commenting that,
''It is likely these asylum seekers will be treated harshly when all they have done is exercise a legal right.
People who are desperate to get away from Sri Lanka know that it is a dangerous enterprise coming by sea. We Australians praise ourselves as great humanitarians - this is hardly an example of compassion.''
Phil Lynch, from the Human Rights Law Centre, also charged Australia of speaking with a ''forked tongue'' when it came to Sri Lanka.
He said that their praise of intercepting refugees and ensuring that they could not flee the island was contradictory for Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd’s call for action on human rights in Sri Lanka.
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young also spoke on the issue saying that,
''Australia should be helping build protection frameworks in the region, not praising countries for trampling on the rights of their own citizens.''
The comments come amid intense opposition to a proposed change to asylum laws in Australia, after the Australian High Court ruled an initially drafted bill, calling for a “swap deal” with Malaysia, to be illegal.
See our earlier post: High Court rules against Australia-Malaysia refugee swap (Sep 2011)
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
