Facebook icon
Twitter icon
e-mail icon

Anger at Australian envoys role at Sri Lankan ceremony

The Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka has been criticised after handing out certificates to alleged Tamil rebels who went through two years of military led rehabilitation, The Age reports.

Kathy Klugman took part in a much publicised ceremony, celebrating, what was termed as, the reintegration of 1800 former rebels, along with US ambassador Patricia Butenis, British High Commissioner John Rankin and Indian High Commissioner Ashok Kantha.

The President of the International Commission of Jurists in Australia, John Dowd has slammed the move, accusing the Australian government of lending legitimacy to a regime which is accused of war crimes and which refuses to allow an investigation into the countless human rights abuses it is accused of committing.

See our previous report on the rehabilitation:

Rajapaksa's self-congratulation (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.