Tamil Sydney - 83 Asylum seekers will face persecution – if returned to Sri Lanka,Australian Tamils fear

83 Asylum seekers will face persecution – if returned to Sri Lanka,Australian Tamils fear

ABC’s correspondence Geoff Thompson revealed in his report filed today that, 83 Sri Lankans will transit through Indonesia and be sent back to Sri Lanka in a deal cut by Governments of Australia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Major Gen. K.J.C. Perera, Head of Sri Lankan Mission in Indonesia, is believed to the key man in striking this deal and who is alleged to be a war criminal, master minded the well documented massacre of hundreds of innocent minority Tamils. Australian Tamils fear that majority of asylum seekers would be minority tamils who flee the country due the escalating extra-judicial killings and abductions by Sri Lankan military forces and face persecution, if returned.

Hundreds of Jaffna residents said to have been tortured to death or deliberately killed in military custody and buried in mass graves in the Chemmani area by troops under General Janaka Perera's command during 1996.

In 1996 Amnesty International issued a statement over the weekend criticising Australia's decision to accept General Janaka Perera as Sri Lankan High Commissioner for Australia. "By making this appointment they are disregarding their international obligations as state parties to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatement," Amnesty said, adding that several allegations against General Perera, who commanded the elite 53 Special Forces Division, were under investigation by commissions in Sri Lanka.

"Amnesty International understands that in relation to at least some of these cases, the commission has recommended further investigation with a view to prosecution," Amnesty said.

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Full Text of ABC News;

An Indonesian official has told the ABC that a deal to return 83 Sri Lankans from Christmas Island to Indonesia is close to being finalised.
The well-placed Indonesian official, who does not wish to be named, told the ABC that under the deal the 83 Sri Lankans would only transit briefly through Indonesia on their way back to Sri Lanka.

Significantly, the official said that it was not intended that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) would become involved, but rather arrangements would be made directly between the Governments of Australia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

Indonesia is not a signatory to the United Nations Refugee Convention.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and Immigration and Citizenship Minister Kevin Andrews have said Australia has no intention of breaching its international obligations and said that the Sri Lankans would be able to claim asylum with the UNHCR in Indonesia if they are sent there.
A spokeswoman Kevin Andrews says Australia's discussions with Indonesia have been of a preliminary nature. She says any suggestion Australia would agree to an arrangement which would see refugees returned to a country where they face persecution is wrong.

She added that it is yet to be determined whether or not the Sri Lankans are refugees.

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Australian Tamils Protest againts Gen Janaka Perera

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