The Sri Lankan High Commission in Australia has tried to block a new book on war crimes committed by government forces against the Tamil people being endorsed by Melbourne's Monash University, said the Tamil Refugee Council in a statement on Monday.
The book, 'Sri Lanka's Secrets: How the Rajapaksa regime gets away with murder' by the journalist Trevor Grant, was published by Monash University Publishing, and released in August. "It is understood that at two meetings with senior university administrators, including vice-chancellor, Professor Margaret Gardner, the Sri Lankan High Commissioner, Admiral Thirasa Samarasinghe, questioned the university's selection and approval processes for the book. He also wanted it to issue some form of apology for allowing it to be publiched," the TRC said.
"The University's links with Monash College in Colombo, a pathway school to Monash campuses in Australia, was believed to have been brought up in the discussions," the group added.
"Admiral Samarasinghe wrote to Monash University about the book on 27 August. The letter contained a request to meet with the vice-chancellor," Dr Nathan Hollier, director of Monash University, said, confirming that Admiral Samarasinghe had met with the university's senior administrators on two occasions in September.
"Professor Abid Khan, the deputy vice-chancellor, wrote an official response and then met with Admiral Samarasinghe and the Sri Lankan consul-general for Victoria on September 8. These two representatives also met with the vice-chancellor on September 26," Dr Hollier added.
The TRC said that Dr Khan, in a letter, "rejected Samarasinghe's attempt at censorship, saying that authors were free to publish their work through Monash University Publishing without fear from institutional discipline."
"It also reiterated that the publishing arm was an autonomous part of the university and that its publications don't represent an official view from the university."
The TRC's convenor, Aran Mylvaganam, said the group "deplore this intervention from the Sri Lankan Government", describing it as "clearly an attempt to subvert the right to freedom of expression, something that does not exist in Sri Lanka."
"We are pleased that Monash has stood firm in the face of this coercion," Mylvaganam added.
The book, 'Sri Lanka's Secrets: How the Rajapaksa regime gets away with murder' by the journalist Trevor Grant, was published by Monash University Publishing, and released in August. "It is understood that at two meetings with senior university administrators, including vice-chancellor, Professor Margaret Gardner, the Sri Lankan High Commissioner, Admiral Thirasa Samarasinghe, questioned the university's selection and approval processes for the book. He also wanted it to issue some form of apology for allowing it to be publiched," the TRC said.
"The University's links with Monash College in Colombo, a pathway school to Monash campuses in Australia, was believed to have been brought up in the discussions," the group added.
"Admiral Samarasinghe wrote to Monash University about the book on 27 August. The letter contained a request to meet with the vice-chancellor," Dr Nathan Hollier, director of Monash University, said, confirming that Admiral Samarasinghe had met with the university's senior administrators on two occasions in September.
"Professor Abid Khan, the deputy vice-chancellor, wrote an official response and then met with Admiral Samarasinghe and the Sri Lankan consul-general for Victoria on September 8. These two representatives also met with the vice-chancellor on September 26," Dr Hollier added.
The TRC said that Dr Khan, in a letter, "rejected Samarasinghe's attempt at censorship, saying that authors were free to publish their work through Monash University Publishing without fear from institutional discipline."
"It also reiterated that the publishing arm was an autonomous part of the university and that its publications don't represent an official view from the university."
The TRC's convenor, Aran Mylvaganam, said the group "deplore this intervention from the Sri Lankan Government", describing it as "clearly an attempt to subvert the right to freedom of expression, something that does not exist in Sri Lanka."
"We are pleased that Monash has stood firm in the face of this coercion," Mylvaganam added.