| AFTA deeply concerned about the Changes to Australia’s Immigration Processing System |
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The Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations (AFTA), the umbrella body of the peak Tamil associations in Australia and New Zealand, is dismayed and deeply concerned about the announcement made by Senator Chris Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship on last Friday that, Australia is suspending with immediate effect the processing of new asylum applications from refugees fleeing Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.
Minister has given the reasons for this decision as Sri Lanka is a country in transition after two decades of conflict, with hopes for further improvement and stabilisation in conditions and Australia wants to take into consideration the outcomes of the UNHCR's review of country situations in Sri Lanka. If these are the reasons for this change in decision, AFTA finds it difficult to understand why a suspension in processing is needed. Processing could continue with all these factors taken into consideration on an individual case basis and decisions can be taken accordingly. Even after UNHCR has declared that its official review of the security situation on the ground in Sri Lanka is only a routine review, including this also as a reason to support the suspension in the processing of new applications tantamount to pre-empting on something that may not change from the present situation. Hoping for further improvement and stabilisation in conditions in Sri Lanka and using that as a rational for the decision, conflicts with the information Amnesty International and other human rights organisations have been giving recently regarding the situation on the ground for many people in Sri Lanka. Australian government announcing this decision in the same week, when the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister appealed to the Australian government not to give asylum to Tamils in Australia as this country will become a breeding grounds for separatism in Sri Lanka, tend to give the impression that the decision taken by the Australian government is influenced to a great extent by the advice given by the alleged oppressors of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. AFTA regrets that a humanitarian issue like the fate of the Tamils fleeing Sri Lanka is being used by both Labor and Liberal Parties in Australia for their electoral politics. While AFTA appreciates all the new measures being introduced by our government strengthening a range of law enforcement measures targeting people smugglers, AFTA appeals to the leaders of both Labor and Liberal parties to take a bipartisan approach and find a “regional permanent solution” to the flow of unauthorised boat arrivals rather than using the issue for political point scoring. Chairperson : -- Professor Selva Selvanathan |
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