| Tamil Tigers are not terrorists says Bruce Haigh former Australian diplomat in Sri Lanka |
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" Bruce Haigh, a political commentator who has served as an Australian diplomat in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and South Africa, also says the Tamil Tigers should not be classified as terrorists." said in an interview to ABC. "Mr Haigh says there are also Sinhalese living in Australia, who were involved with military and security organisations in Sri Lanka, "the sole aim of which were to kill, sometimes through murder, members of the Tamil community"." "Elements in the AFP [Federal Police] might like to hear Wilson in action on LTTE terrorists, but other intelligence agencies are more sanguine and circumspect in their analysis of the threat posed by former members of the LTTE stepping onto Australian soil."
Tuckey's terrorist claims 'vindicated' Liberal backbencher Wilson Tuckey says a senior figure within the Australian Tamil community has vindicated his claims that terrorists could be on board asylum seeker boats. Today the secretary of the Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations, Victor Rajakulendran, told ABC News Radio he would not be surprised if former Tamil Tigers were trying to escape Sri Lanka. "That is a probability, that is what I have been told, so out of 200 Tamil asylum seekers, there could be a Tiger," he said. "They are also fleeing the country like any other Tamils because their life is also in danger and I would say their life is in more danger than a common Tamil civilian. "The common Tamil civilians are leaving the country because of fear of their lives - these people also will definitely flee the country so they could be in the boat." Mr Rajakulendran says any Tigers on the boats "should be classified as liberation fighters and not terrorists". But Mr Tuckey says Mr Rajakulendran's comments underline the point he has being trying to make. Last week, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd challenged Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull to disendorse Mr Tuckey as a Liberal Party candidate at the next federal election as punishment for the comments he made about asylum seekers. Mr Tuckey says he has received phone calls supporting his views and he has warned the Prime Minister to stop bullying him. "For Mr Rudd to come out and try to bully me, I'm no flight attendant and the reality of it is that seems to be his only defence for failed public policy," Mr Tuckey said. And Mr Tuckey has now changed his attack on the Government over the increasing number of asylum seekers arriving in Australia. He wonders if there are enough personnel on Christmas Island now to conduct health and security checks on the detained asylum seekers. "The question is how thoroughly are those sort of things being done," he said. "What is their health status and what threat, unfortunately, might they represent to children and others within Australia? "I mean these are the things that must be established - I wonder, considering this massive influx, how many qualified people he has got over there to do the job in the interest of Australia."
The Australian Government has considered listing the Tamil Tigers as a banned terrorist group several times and has declined to do so without explaining why. Bruce Haigh, a political commentator who has served as an Australian diplomat in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and South Africa, also says the Tamil Tigers should not be classified as terrorists. "What does Wilson [Tuckey] think they will do if granted the right to live in Australia? Blow up the local post office, police station or shock horror, a pub?" he asked. "It should not come as a surprise to learn that there are former members of the LTTE living in Australia and that they are now engaged in one or other of the professions and raising successful children." Mr Haigh says there are also Sinhalese living in Australia, who were involved with military and security organisations in Sri Lanka, "the sole aim of which were to kill, sometimes through murder, members of the Tamil community". He says Australia sided with the Sri Lankan government in its civil war, subsequently viewing the Tamil Tigers as terrorists, but that it was a war in which terrorist tactics were used by both sides. "Australia ended up supporting one side in a civil war when it should have been neutral and even handed," he said. "That does not mean that Australia should continue to demonise Tamils. "Elements in the AFP [Federal Police] might like to hear Wilson in action on LTTE terrorists, but other intelligence agencies are more sanguine and circumspect in their analysis of the threat posed by former members of the LTTE stepping onto Australian soil."
The Greens' spokeswoman on immigration, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, says the past week's debate on the issue has been unedifying. "We've heard the ugliness from the House of Representatives in the last week, the ugly language used, the insinuations that people are terrorists, name calling of scum and illegals," she said. "I think the Senate is better than this. Today I am putting forward a motion to call on all of my Senate colleagues to agree that we can participate in this debate properly, respectfully and with a level of maturity that is needed for us to have these rational debates. "I am calling on the Senate to be mature - let's have this debate but let's do it properly and respectfully." |
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