Emily Howie’s Summary Update on the Reportage about Boat People

Emily Howie

Australian Naval Ship on Good Will Visit to Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence, 7 January 2012 …..
The HMAS Anzac arrives in Colombo on a goodwill visit.
Sri Lankan Asylum Seeker Commits Suicide in Australia
Daily Mirror, 7 January 2012
Report that a Sri Lankan asylum seeker living in the Australian community committed suicide.
Sri Lankan Asylum Seekers Claim They Were Lured to Australia
ABC Radio Australia, 20 December 2012
Report on recent returnees to Sri Lanka. “In Singhalese towns and villages the people smugglers’ sales pitch is simple: go to Australia and you’ll get jobs and money.” For Tamils, although there are economic imperatives, for some the persecution continues and is also a reason for leaving. One returnee claims the Australian system did not provide him adequate opportunity to make his claim for asylum

No Solutions in Sight for Boat Departures from Sri Lanka
Michael Roberts, The Island, 18 and 19 December 2012
see also: http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=68646
A two-part feature considering the reasons for the current wave of boat migration from Sri Lanka to Australia. Roberts argues that snowball migration is a cause of the current migration, questions the notion that boats used are dangerous and considers the simplistic rhetorical distinction drawn between refugees and ‘economic migrants’. Roberts reports that only “34, or 1.4 per cent, of the 2409 odd Tamils on boats impounded by the SL Navy in 2012 up to 19th October were former Tigers.” ”

Sri Lanka’s Consul General to Australia Warns of LTTE in Migration
Daily News, 17 December 2012
The Sri Lankan Consul General to Australia argues that LTTE remnants are involved in people smuggling: “LTTE remnant groups carry out people-smuggling operations for profit and to find a passage for their foot soldiers to settle elsewhere. They also mislead other innocent and poor Sri Lankans by portraying Australia as a promised land that welcomes everyone with open arms, providing them with shelter and a substantial living allowance. They tell them it is an easy task to become a citizen of Australia.” He also describes the legal processes that apply to persons intercepted by the Sri Lankan navy and those returned from Australia.

Australia to Assist Sri Lanka with Naval Surveillance
ABC Radio,  17 December 2012
On his visit to Sri Lanka, Foreign Minister Bob Carr confirms that Australia will assist Sri Lanka with naval surveillance and capacity to tackle people smuggling. “Sharing intelligence with them is an important part of the plan, providing them with equipment and with training.

ALSO SEE http://www.jasonkenney.ca/news/minister-kenney-speaks-about-smuggling-in-colombo-sri-lanka/