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A second patrol boat donated by the Australian government to Sri Lanka has arrived in Colombo this week, having been ceremoniously received by the Sri Lanka Navy.
The controversial gift was donated by Australia as part of its attempts to stem the flood of asylum seekers fleeing the island.
According to the Ministry of Defence, Commander Warnakulasooriya said the Sri Lankan Navy is “looking forward to formerly deploy the gifted vessel very soon on its commissioning.”
Earlier Greens leader Christine Milne slammed the gift as “collaboration and it is abhorrent” and Paul Power of the Refugee Council of Australia stated the Australian government was “co-operating with a state with a very poor human rights record from which quite a number of people have fled and have been found to be in need of refugee protection”.
See our earlier posts:
Australia gifts second patrol boat to Sri Lankan Navy (04 June 2014)
'Human rights violators can't be trusted not to do it again and again' - Geoffrey Robertson QC (20 Nov 2013)
Australia’s warship gift to Sri Lanka under fire (17 Nov 2013)