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78 Asylum seekers protest on australian customs ship

The Australian Government is working closely with Indonesian authorities to safely facilitate the transfer of 78 passengers on board the Australian Customs Vessel Oceanic Viking to the port of Tanjung Pinang in Indonesia. Working with Indonesia, Australia has been discharging its humanitarian and safety-at-sea
obligations. We have been advised that the adult male passengers on board the ACV Oceanic Viking have
commenced a hunger strike and are refusing to eat meals. However, they are drinking water. The women and children on board are continuing to eat and drink and are not involved in the hunger strike.

The Eighth Tamil Internet Conference TIC 2009 and the first in Europe was inaugurated with the august presence of Prof.Dr.Bongartz (Dean of Philosophical Faculty of Univ. of COLOGNE) & Prof.M.Anandakrishnan (Chair, Tamilnadu Govt. Delegation & Former VC, Anna University). The 3 day conference hosted by the Institute of Indology and Tamil Studies of the University of Cologne in Germany is being held from October 23-25, 2009. Tamil Internet Conferences of INFITT are major events for computer professionals and Tamil Diaspora working or interested in Tamil Computing- Information Technology and Tamil Internet Development in various areas. This year’s conference is being attended by over 100+ attendees from major Tamil speaking countries including India, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, UK, Germany, France, USA & Canada.

Originally Published in Mar 2004
I was shocked, saddened and angered when I read the news item on 17 March 2004 in Sri Lanka Media, that a memorial is to be erected in Colombo for the Indian Peace Keeping Force - IPKF soldiers who died in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 2000. The simple fact of the matter is that a foreign country, with designs of becoming a regional superpower, maneuvered to send its Army here as Peace Keepers but massacred thousands of innocent Tamil civilians, raped the women and plundered valuables.If memorials are to be erected, then it should be for innocent civilians massacred by the IPKF. Let me provide a FEW samples from my personal knowledge. These represent but the tip of an iceberg. I write as an authentic son of Jaffna, born and bred there, educated at Jaffna Hindu College and the only house my wife and I own is in Jaffna.

Community sources said that an australian tamil who witnessed the last phases of the brutal war waged by Sri Lankan government in may this year, described by UN as 'blood bath on the beaches' has arrived home safetly from Sri Lankan concentration camp.Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told to media on 17th June that, "Our officials believed, at one point late in May or early this month, that they had been located in the camps, but we cannot confirm their continued presence in one of the camps. Having said that, I underline this point, we have no information or evidence from any of our sources - the international agencies, our own officers, or the Sri Lankan authorities - which would cause us to believe they are unsafe or have come into harm. "

They make up less than four per cent of people who come to Australia seeking asylum, yet never fail to generate an astonishing political and media storm.So here are some facts: more than 96 per cent of asylum seekers arriving in Australia step off planes, not boats. Furthermore, the vast majority of boat arrivals are typically found to be genuine refugees – those fleeing for their lives and safety, not simply seeking better lives in wealthier nations. Far from being "illegal immigrants" they are exercising the right to seek asylum under international law.
Yet right now our Government is actually considering paying Indonesia, a country which has not signed the UN Convention on Refugees, to swoop in on people desperately seeking refuge in Australia before we’ve even had a chance to hear their claims.

HRW Press Release
A US State Department report on possible violations of the laws of war in Sri Lanka made public on October 22, 2009 shows the need for an independent international investigation, Human Rights Watch said today. The report details violations of the laws of war committed by both government forces and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) from January through May 2009.

Australian Minister for Home Affairs, Brendan O’Connor says another vessel intercepted with 29 people. "Border Protection Command today successfully intercepted a suspected irregular entry vessel. The Royal Australian Navy patrol boat HMAS Albany, operating under the control of Border Protection Command, intercepted the vessel at 10:10 am (AEDST) today as it approached Ashmore Island. Initial indications suggest 29 passengers and four crew are on board the vessel."

Accused hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam and his family's foundation were sued in a U.S. court on Thursday over allegations that they provided $5 million to Tamil Tigers militants in his native Sri Lanka's civil war. The case was filed by Karunamunige Chamila Krishanthi at U.S. District Court in New Jersey. "The accusation that Mr. Rajaratnam supported the LTTE is flatly untrue and libelous, and we are confident that the court will dismiss these baseless charges," Rajaratnam's lawyer Jim Walden said in a statement.

U.S. Department of State delivered a Congressional report Wednesday detailing the incidents that allegedly occurred during the final months of the war in Vanni that may constitute violations of international humanitarian law or crimes against humanity. Fromer Australian DFAT Official and then Secretary to the Sri lankan Foreign Ministry, Dr. Palitha Kohona was also quoted related to one specifc war crime as, "May 18 – Embassy Colombo, as well as press and foreign governments, received reports that LTTE political leaders Nadesan and Puleedevan, along with other LTTE leaders, were killed while surrendering to GSL forces. According to these reports, Nadesan and Puleedevan spoke to international and domestic actors who acted as intermediaries with the Secretary to the Foreign Ministry, Dr. Palitha Kohona, to negotiate their surrender along with 300 other people. Nadesan requested the presence of UN Secretary-General envoy Vijay Nambiar to witness the surrender, but was told that he had President Rajapaksa’s assurance that the safety of surrendering LTTE leaders would be assured. On the morning of May 18, Nadesan and Puleedevan led a group of approximately one dozen men and women out to the SLA troops, waving a white flag. According to a Tamil witness who later escaped the area, the SLA started firing machine guns at them. Everyone in the group reportedly was killed. "

Another batch of 22 Asylum seekers and 2 crew have been intercepted by Australian Border Protection Command and will be safetly transfered to Chrismas Island, a report said. The vessel was identified by a Customs and Border Protection Dash 8 aircraft, under the control of Border Protection Command. Initial indications suggest 22 passengers and 2 crew are on board the vessel. The Minister for Home Affairs, Brendan O’Connor, said that Australia is committed to addressing people smuggling.

The Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations (AFTA), the umbrella body of the peak State and Territory Tamil organisations in Australia and peak Tamil organisations in New Zealand, submits with deepest sorrow and shock, this eulogy on late Thedchanamoorthy Nithyakeerthi, an active AFTA Council Delegate who passed away so suddenly on 15.10.2009 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Australian Union wants welcome mat laid out for refugees

Full Text
MARK COLVIN: So far the Labor movement has been broadly uncritical of the Prime Minister's approach on the Sri Lankan asylum seekers.But now the head of the Australian Workers' Union and vice president of the ACTU, Paul Howes, has broken ranks.Mr Howes says the Government should put out the welcome mat to the asylum seekers now docked in west Java.He's urged the Government to seize the moral high ground and ensure there's no return to the divisive debate of 2001.At the same time the fate of another 78 asylum seekers rescued by the Australian Navy remains in limbo as the Australian and Indonesian Governments decide where they should be sent.

By Michael Mullins October 19, 2009
In 2007, then opposition leader Kevin Rudd outfoxed prime minister John Howard in a game of political one-upmanship that was dubbed 'me-tooism'. Copying popular government policies was arguably the decisive factor that took Labor to victory in the federal election. Once the election was over, Rudd moved on and proceeded to implement policies based on principle. We had the ratification of Kyoto, the apology to Indigenous Australians, and more. But now his government has been caught by surprise with the rapid upsurge in the number of refugee boat arrivals, and political instinct is once again determining how it acts.

In an interview to SBS Dateline, Rohan Gunaratna a Sri Lankan currently living in Singapore, who is very close to Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary Mr Gotapaya Rajapaksa said, "Yes. I can share with you that the Sri Lankan Government is already planning to bring a number of other people home." He also further gave some insider information on the arrest of Tamil Tiger Leader Kumaran Pathmanathan or KP and confirmed that he has been abducted in Malaysia,"..KP was taken directly from Malaysia on board a Sri Lankan flight. He flew on business class to Sri Lanka - in style! .."

"..Border Protection Command today successfully intercepted a suspected irregular entry vessel. The Royal Australian Navy patrol boat HMAS Pirie, operating under the control of Border Protection Command, intercepted the vessel at 7:35 pm (AEST) on 18 October, 24 nautical miles north-west of Ashmore Island. The vessel was initially sighted by a RAAF P3 maritime aircraft, under BPC’s control. Initial indications suggest there are 39 passengers and 3 crew on board. The Minister for Home Affairs, Brendan O’Connor, said that people smuggling is a world-wide problem and that Australia is committed to working closely with our neighbours to address the issue..."

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