The National Council of the Maritime Union of Australia moved the following resolution in Sydney on the 5th November;
“That the responsibility for the Sri Lankan refugees is in part Australia’s own doing. We are the second largest investor in Sri Lanka, yet we have brought no pressure to bear on the government of Sri Lanka to stop the persecution of Tamil people in that country. The Sri Lankan government still hold over 300,000 Tamil’s in a concentration camp and do not allow Red Cross or international observers to monitor the situation. People will always try to escape from persecution.

While we remain silent on the injustices in Sri Lanka we will continue to have to deal with people who seek refuge from it. We call on the Australian Government to withhold investment in Sri Lanka, until humanitarian aid is allowed to those areas still under military control and the entrenched persecution of the Tamil population ceases.”