Australia’s support for Sri Lanka in resisting a UN inquiry into rights abuses is an example of how the Abbott's government 'stop the boats' diplomacy “has undermined the values Australia has proudly and powerfully articulated on the world stage for decades,” the Sydney Morning Herald said.
In its editorial on Tuesday, the paper called on the Australian government to support the resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council, arguing, “true reconciliation in Sri Lanka is ultimately the best method of stemming the tide of asylum seekers from the country.”
See extracts from editorial below; see the full text here.
"The arrest of two of Sri Lanka's most prominent human rights activists, Ruki Fernando and Father Praveen Mahesan, by the nation's security forces last week was orchestrated to send a message.
"Coming before this week's United Nations Human Rights Council vote for an independent investigation of crimes against humanity during the finale of Sri Lanka's civil war, the arrests were meant to show those alleging human rights abuses were, in fact, sympathisers of violent extremists.
"However, the arrests prompted outrage which forced the Sri Lankan government to release the men two days later, albeit with their phones and computers confiscated and on condition they did not talk to the media.
"In the end, Sri Lanka sent an entirely different message than intended. That is, its government has an authoritarian bent, crushes dissent and remains in denial about the well-documented claims of human rights abuses.
"The 47 members of the UN's Human Rights Council are due to vote on Thursday on the establishment of a comprehensive investigation by the Office of the UN Human Rights Commissioner into ''alleged serious violations and abuses of human rights'' in Sri Lanka.
"The US, Britain, Canada and the European Union are resolutely behind the inquiry, which will investigate combatants on all sides of the civil war. Australia has so far refused to back the resolution, despite the entreaties of its closest allies.
"Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has not ruled out co-sponsoring the initiative but has given every indication that Australia will not do so without it being watered down.
"This is an example of how the Abbott's government ''stop the boats'' diplomacy has undermined the values Australia has proudly and powerfully articulated on the world stage for decades.
"Australia has forcibly returned more than 1000 asylum seekers to Sri Lanka in the past two years, and has given the country two patrol boats to boost its anti-people smuggling capability.
"The Abbott government has said it does not want the US resolution to ''isolate'' the Sri Lankan government. It must also be nervous that the UN inquiry could show that Australia's rapid return of Sri Lankan asylum seekers under the bipartisan ''enhanced screening'' policy risks exposing them to continuing persecution, a breach of our international obligations.
"But the Abbott government must look beyond any short-term complication of its relationship with Sri Lanka, or challenge to the credibility of its asylum seeker policy.
"True reconciliation in Sri Lanka is ultimately the best method of stemming the tide of asylum seekers from the country."
See extracts from editorial below. For full piece click here.
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