India seeks urgent meeting with TNA

June 11, 2013

The Indian government has sought an urgent meeting with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) on the 13th Amendment to the constitution, the Uthayan newspaper owned by TNA MP E. Sarawanabavan reported today.

Accordingly a TNA delegation led by TNA leader R. Sampanthan will head to New Delhi next week to meet Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and others in the government.

The meeting comes on the backdrop of moves by the government to make changes to the 13th Amendment by removing some clauses including the land and police powers.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa had yesterday told the coalition partners of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) that they can vote as they wish in parliament on the proposed changes to the 13^th Amendment to the constitution.

The President expressed this view when he met separately with the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) and the EPDP, Presidential spokesman Mohan Samaranayaka told the Colombo Gazette yesterday.

Samaranayaka said that a JHU delegation led by Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka and an EPDP delegation led by Minister Douglas Devananda had separate meetings with the President.

“The President told the two delegations that the can freely express their views and vote as they wish on the proposed changes as coalition partners of the government,” Samaranayaka said.

The JHU has been pushing for the 13^th Amendment to be abolished or changes to be included before the scheduled northern provincial council polls in September. (Colombo Gazette)

Gajendrakumar exposes New Delhi’s deception behind 13th Amendment

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 June 2013, 06:33 GMT]
New Delhi that had wanted the LTTE to commit on federal solution as condition to bring in ceasefire, started arrogantly imposing the unitary 13 Amendment once the war ended in genocide, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam exposes, bringing out the roles played by new Delhi’s National Security Advisor, M.K. Narayanan, and the former Foreign Secretary and the present NSA, Shivshankar Menon. When some of the TNA members attempted to explain that the 13th Amendment couldn’t be the way to find a political solution to the national question, Mr Narayanan responded in an angry tone stating that India knew what was good for Tamils much better than the Tamils themselves. The Indian delegation categorically told us that the 13th Amendment was the solution, Mr Gajendrakumar said. 



Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, the leader of the Tamil National Peoples Front (TNPF) held a press conference on Tuesday at the Jaffna Press Club. 

The exposure raises serious questions on the trustworthiness of New Delhi that is keen only on getting public commitments of subjugation from Eezham Tamils. The story of deception should also enlighten the Tamils on why they should not depend on behind the screen manoeuvrings but should insist on transparent commitment from India and the IC, on the right to exercise the self-determination of the genocide-affected nation of Eezham Tamils, commented activists for alternative politics in Jaffna, responding to Gajendrakumar’s revelations on Tuesday. 



Following are translated excerpts of his address in Tamil:

Gajendrakumar exposes New Delhi’s deception behind 13th Amendment by nelvely

The 13th Amendment and the Curate’s egg

June 11, 2013, 8:17 pm 

There is a strong effort to prevent any action on the 13th Amendment by powerful opinion builders. However, we know that the 13th Amendment has been in the statute book for 26 years without being accepted and fully implemented by the country.

Can we then deny that it had been kicked to the long grass, and for very good reasons?

The Catholic Bishops have also come on the side of not tampering with the 13th Amendment at this moment and have urged the holding of the Northern Council elections. However, they have very wisely advocated working out a new Constitution. Does this mean nullifying the 13th Amendment and making the results of the election irrelevant?

The Catholic Bishops themselves will agree that the 13th Amendment could be compared with a Curate’s egg. (A curate is a parish priest). A "curate’s egg" is a phrase used to describe something that is at least partly bad, but with some arguably redeeming features. The only question one would ask is "Do you know of an egg which you have eaten which was partly bad !!".

Whether we stick to the 13th Amendment or whether we abandon it makes not the slightest difference. The same state of affairs will continue, if we do not consciously take on the task of setting up an ideal of the optimum our people can aspire to. We need to plan our society with reference to it - the "optimum" itself being established on the basis of

- in depth and genuine investigations related to ecological and cultural values, security of the country,

- economic efficiency and democratic governance

Otherwise, we will continue aimlessly as another Third World nation.

The country has to take note that the 13th Amendment is not a Sri Lankan creation. It was one that was imposed on us. In the form it has been implemented, it has been a white elephant. If one looks into the collapse of our system of governance, one could find the answer. The system we have is fundamentally alien to us and has not taken root.

We are actually trying desperately to appease the unreal aspirations of some emotionally charged persons in the Tamil Community. They originated from the North and the East. The Tamil community, today, form about 8 to 9 per cent of the entire population. Most of them live outside the North and the East making this play a charade.

Those who have worked in the Provinces and Districts outside Colombo know that the District is a far more rational entity for devolution than a Province.

It is time therefore that the people are consulted on this matter to formulate a new system of governance where they take responsibility for their actions. They have to be asked the question at a Referendum "Do you want the devolution to be to the Province or should devolution be to the GN division, the Pradeshiya Sabha and the District in a New Constitution?".

We know from the Catholic Church, about which I referred earlier in this article, that its strength comes from a strong network of parish Councils all over the country. That is effective subsidiarity at work. Translated to the political scene it is the Village Council or the Gramarajya which Gandhiji conceptualized that will actually transform this small country to evolve into a success story. In other words enable the people to take charge of their destiny and be responsible for it.

The great achievements in this country especially the heights in engineering skills was possible because people were inspired with training and confidence to get the best of their potential.

We are at the cross roads of history. We have to think anew and out of the box with faith in all our people and in the future of our country.

Senex

Stripping PC Powers And Toying With A PSC

By Harim Peiris -June 12, 2013 

Harim Peiris

The Rajapakse government has in recent weeks put into high gear its post war Northern or Tamil policy and this policy has been marked by generally trying to reduce the level of devolution that exists in the country under the13^th amendment. What currently exists as devolution is also only a partial implementation of the 13^th amendment, since in practice neither police nor land powers have been vested with the provinces since the inception of the Councils. However, not satisfied with a de facto arrangement of reducing the powers of the councils, the Administration desires a de jure reduction of devolution granted under the 13^thamendment.

Denying the provincial franchise to Tamil citizens.

The Sinhala Buddhist nationalist elements in the government, the JHU and the NFF have been helpful in this regard, taking the lead in seeking to form public sentiment towards both reducing devolution and taking it a step further to deny the Tamil people in the North, citizens of Sri Lanka by decent no less, their franchise at the provincial level, to elect their own provincial representatives. In the alternate, the former army commander of Jaffna appointed Governor of the Northern Province, exercises the powers of the council, unconstitutionally as the Supreme Court has held in the Divineguma Bill case and we wonder why the world tells us we have a military administration and no provincial democracy in the former conflict zone of the North.

Now the military and indeed the government frequently concedes that it has not won the hearts and minds of the Tamil community, post war as the election results of votes en mass for the TNA, will objectively tell us and the security arguments for making the North a garrison province would bear out. In such an instance, some political accommodation of the Tamil community as had been attempted through and from the times of the Bandaranaike – Chelvanayakam pact and the Dudley – Chelvanayakam pact, is surely needed as even the Rajapakse Administration admits through its own All Party Representatives Conference (APRC) appointed during the war to seek the Southern consensus for the ethnic problem and the LLRC appointed afterwards to deal with the effects of the war and reconciliation.

Non Implementation of LLRC

In the four years since the end of the war in 2009, the government has taken two steps towards addressing the underlying causes and the effects of the ethnic conflict. Arguably in response to the UN Secretary General’s Experts Panel, the government appointed its own Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) and subsequently at India’s urging began a “structured dialogue” with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) which explored the contours of a political settlement. Both these domestic initiatives languish on the back burner, consigned to the non implementation ranks of government policy, either due to a lack of political will or more likely, as events demonstrate, a political desire to do almost exactly the opposite to what the core LLRC recommendations are and the even the limited areas of agreement reach in the year long discussions with the TNA. Having unilaterally decided to keep away from the bi lateral talks with the TNA, the government is now reviving afresh another non starter of an initiative; a parliamentary select committee (PSC) on the ethnic question.

Making noises about a unilateral PSC

The Government is making anew a prior suggestion of proceeding with a parliamentary select committee (PSC) however now with the caveat that only the government, made up of its constituent parties will participate. This is supposed to deliberate on a solution to the ethnic problem. Strangely the most vociferous proponents of the PSC, are the JHU who claim there is no ethnic problem in the country, but are the biggest proponents of the PSC. One wonders to what purpose.

Firstly a PSC that is constituted only of government members is redundant. There is both the (large) cabinet and the UPFA parliamentary group meeting, for intra governmental discussions. In fact deliberations between government’s constituents are a clear necessity before the government can engage with the TNA, since the government does not speak in one voice on devolution and reconciliation and seemingly has no clear post war policy on the ethnic problem.

Second, the Rajapakse regime should before it engages in yet another exercise such as the PSC, draw on and indeed implement the decisions and recommendations of its own prior processes and deliberations, including the Tissa Vitarana APRC process and the LLRC. Both of these are government processes. Implementing even some of their basic recommendations, does not require any further discussion, just the political will for the Regime to fulfill its own promises, manifesto and internally generated proposals. That the Rajapakse Administration seems adamantly opposed to making even the smallest concessions to minorities in the country, be they ethnic or now even religious, except to deny the existence of minorities hardly inspires any confidence or rationale for engagement.

Finally, following a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) process, held illegal, null and void by the appellate and superior courts of this country, that proceeded with impeaching the chief justice of the country, after adverse decisions against the government, hardly provides the kind of stellar recommendations about the integrity of a PSC process. The PSC on the chief justice impeachment showed exactly how the Rajapakse regime uses (or abuses) a PSC and the combined opposition including the UNP, the JVP and the TNA can be forgiven if once bitten twice shy, they opt out of participating in another PSC unless and until the government by presenting its own proposals for resolving the issues or implements in good faith and best efforts the LLRC recommendations thereby demonstrating its sincerity. In the absence of such confidence building measures, there is no rhyme or reason for the opposition and especially the TNA to be a party to a seemingly government time buying exercise for CHOGM and / or the next national election.

* Harim Peiris‘s writings may be accessed online http://harimpeiris.com

Muslim Congress Parliamentary Group Unanimously Resolves to Oppose Govt Moves to Amend 13th Constitutional Amendment

Muslim Congress Parliamentary Group Unanimously Resolves to Oppose Govt Moves to Amend 13th Constitutional Amendment

D.B.S.JEYARAJ-Wednesday, June 12, 2013

President Rajapaksa’s proposed move to bring about urgent legislation to amend the Thirteenth Constitutional Amendment and circumscribe devolution suffered a major setback as the Government’s chief Muslim constituent party has resolved to oppose such arbitrary and ad hoc attempts to make Constitutional changes.

The Parliamentary Group of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress(SLMC) met at the Colombo residence of party leader and Justice minister Rauff Hakeem on Monday June 10th 2013 and unanimously resolved to express opposition to moves by the Rajapaksa regime to bring about changes to the Constitution curtailing further the powers of devolution allocated to the Country’s Provincial councils under the thirteenth Constitutional amendment.

All eight Muslim congress Parliamentarians participated at the meeting that lasted for more than two hours.
 The participants were Justice minister and Kandy district MP Rauff Hakeem,Productivity promotion minister Basheer Segu Dawood, Trincomalee dist MP MS Thowfeek,Amparai dist MP’s HMM Harees and Faizal Cassim,Wanni dist MP MB Farook and National list MP’s MT Hasen Ali and Mohamed Aslam.Hasen Ali is the secretary general of the party while Segu Dawood is the chairman. Hakeem is party leader.

National list MP and SLMC secretary general MT Hasen Ali when contacted on the telephone stated that the party’s parliamentary group had arrived at a unanimous decision of opposing moves to change the Constitution regarding the provisions of the 13th amendment.

Mr. Hasen Ali said that the party would be writing officially to President Rajapaksa informing him of the SLMC decision before the next cabinet meeting scheduled for Thursday June 13th. Party leader Rauff Hakeem is expected to convey the reasons for the party decision directly to the President and other cabinet ministers on that day

REASONS

Muslim Congress Parliamentary Group Unanimously Resolves to Oppose Govt Moves to Amend 13th Constitutional... by nelvely

British archaeologist makes no difference from PM of his country

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 June 2013, 22:55 GMT]
If the conscience of academics and intellectuals especially in the field of culture is not prepared to boycott the genocidal State of Sri Lanka, at least in subject matters and institutions that have a bearing on genocide, how to expect politicians to boycott events such as CHOGM hosted by Sri Lanka, commented an academic in Jaffna responding to British archaeologist Prof Robin Coningham choosing to address Colombo’s Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology on a topic related to Buddhism on Saturday. Just like there were mass killings every day during the genocidal war, mass-scale structural genocide now takes place every day in the Sinhala military-occupied country of Eezham Tamils. Buddhism and archaeology are pivotal to the process. In 2010, British journalist Jeremy Page alerted the world on “the army and the archaeology department” of Sri Lanka. 

Prof Coningham of the University of Durham, UK, will be speaking at Sri Lanka’s Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology (PGIAR) on “The Archaeology of the Earliest Buddhist Shrine in South Asia,” which is about the excavations at Lumbini, Buddha’s birthplace in Nepal.

A person who visited the one and only and ‘national’ level PGIAR of Sri Lanka a couple of years back noticed that a janitor at the entrance was the one and only Tamil-speaking person in the entire institute.

But, institutions in the West and their academics caring for only ‘access’ into the island have no qualms about giving recognition and endorsement to genocidal Colombo’s institutions.

Last year a Norwegian university provided platform to the PGIAR director. 

In January 2013, The Archaeological Institute of America thought of awarding a Sri Lankan archaeologist, who was long serving as ‘cultural advisor’ to Rajapaksa regime, for ‘best practice in conservation and heritage management’.

“It also gratified me to note that heritage initiatives carried out in Sri Lanka during the past few decades have been recognized by one of the oldest standing professional bodies of heritage in the world and by the community of global heritage professionals at large,” the academic who received the award said, adding that Sri Lanka had achieved it despite “reeling under the bloody carnage of a 30 year old civil war.”

“Sri Lanka is now reaping the benefits of such heritage initiatives during the post war period,” he said citing the international assistance of UNESCO, ICCROM, ICOMOS, and foreign missions especially that of Netherlands and Japan.

Quite typical of the academic ambassadors of the Sinhala State deceiving the world by their defensive projection of ‘high ideals’ to shield what is actually in the agenda, he was putting on a sane humane face in telling “protecting tangible, intangible and mixed heritage of humanity.”

But the question remains, whether their decades-long ‘advices,’ deception of ‘cultural pluralism’ denying nationhood to Eezham Tamils, buttressing of a genocidal State and regime, and the international assistances cited above have ultimately led to the practical picture of today – ‘army and archaeology,’ colonisation, Buddhicisation and Sinhalicisation committing the structural genocide and annihilation of the Tamil nation and its territoriality in the island.

Coningham is just one in the bandwagon of ‘cultural’ academics for whom the paradigm-setting genocide committed and being committed by the Sinhala State doesn’t need any boycott. New Delhi’s Romila Thapar was the first to run to Colombo immediately after the genocidal war to preach Buddhism.

Sajin says will assault any opposition member in Balapitiya

Wednesday, 12 June 2013

UPFA parliamentarian and President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s confidential financial coordinators, Sajin Vass Gunawardena says he would assault any opposition member who tries to visit the families of the fishermen who were killed due to adverse weather conditions on Saturday.

Over 50 fishermen were killed on Saturday due to the government’s failure to inform them of the stormy weather conditions around the island.

Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, UNP MP Wijedasa Rajapakshe and several other UNP local government representatives were attacked by Sajin’s supporters in Balapitiya yesterday.

Following the attack, Sajin arrived at the scene and spoke to his supporters and told the media that he would not allow any opposition member to visit the families of the dead fishermen in Balapitiya.

He charged that he would “assault and chase them away” (Mama gahal thamay pannanne).

Sajin noted that he would not allow the opposition to gain political mileage by visiting the families of the dead fishermen in Balapitiya.

MONK CLIMBS TREE AT KOLLUPITIYA IN DEMAND OF A JOB FOR HIS BROTHER

June 12, 2013 

A monk has climbed a tree and has begun a protest near the liberty roundabout in Kollupitiya, Police stated.

The monk has climbed a tree demanding that his brother be given employment.

Following police intervention, the monk was brought down from the tree.

Shower of stones at Opposition Leader's convoy during Balapitiya visit

TUESDAY, 11 JUNE 2013 

Police today prevented a pro-government mob setting upon Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as he toured the Balapitiya area visiting families whose members had been killed in Saturday’s stormy weather conditions at sea.

 So far over 50 persons have killed with about 22 of them from Balapitiya.

Mr Wickremesinghe who visited some of the families had been advised to avoid certain areas of Balapitiya as a UPFA Member of Parliament had warned that the opposition leader will not be allowed to visit the area.

Following the advise from his security the opposition leader was heading to the Ahungalla area where the UNP had organized a seminar.

‘As we were heading to the seminar a bus blocked our pathway. Two persons who got off the bus rushed towards my vehicle and opened the door. But my security and the local police prevented them from doing any harm’, Mr Wickremesinghe told Timesonline. 

He said thereafter they proceeded to attend the seminar.

 UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake who was in the same vehicle told Timesonline that he had telephoned Inspector General of Police N.K.Illangakoon and complained about the incident. “I have called for an inquiry into the incident’.

He said stones had been pelted at the opposition leader’s vehicle and damages had been caused. 

Earlier in the day the MP had told his supporters to prevent opposition members visiting the funeral houses of the fishermen killed in the storm claming it would be a disadvantage for the government.

VIDEO: RANIL AND UNP MPS PELTED WITH STONES

June 11, 2013 

Opposition Leader Ranil Wickramasinghe, MP Wijedasa Rajapaksa and several other opposition MPs were attacked with stones and other objects in the Migettuwatta area in Balapitiya today.

UNP MP Wijedasa Rajapaksa stated that the attack took place at around 4.30 p.m. when they had attended the funerals of several fishermen, who had perished at sea during violent storms on Saturday.

He stated that a mob of nearly one hundred “thugs” had pelted stone at them, even damaging the UNP Leader’s official vehicle.  

Top Sri Lanka police officer held over 'contract killing'

-11 June 2013 

One of Sri Lanka's most senior police officers has been arrested under terrorism laws over the murder of a businessman in Colombo.Continue reading the main story

Vaas Gunawardena is already a controversial figure in Sri Lanka

Deputy Inspector-General Vaas Gunawardena has been given a 90-day detention order.

He is suspected of involvement in the alleged contract killing of Mohamed Shiyam in Colombo three weeks ago.

Mr Shiyam's body was found mutilated and with gunshot wounds in a rural area near the capital.

The BBC's Charles Haviland, in Colombo, says the authorities very rarely carry through investigations implicating such senior officials or policemen.

Mr Shiyam, a father of three involved in the footwear business, had gone missing after dining with a friend named as M Fouzdeen in a Colombo suburb.

CCTV evidence was used to implicate Mr Fouzdeen in the case.

He was arrested and is said to have confessed to arranging a contract killing carried out by a group of police.

Only after that did the victim's family learn of his fate.

Local media report that Mr Fouzdeen alleged the involvement of a middleman "known to associate with many high-ranking police officers".

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) says it is holding Mr Gunawardena on charges including murder for financial gain and conspiracy to kill.

Several of his subordinate police are also being held and two weapons from his office have been impounded.

The brother-in-law of the victim is believed to be a close friend of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

After the president ordered swift action on the case it was taken up by the CID.

Mr Gunawardena was already a controversial figure after he and his family were accused of assaulting a student in 2009.

The student, Nipuna Ramanayake, has cases pending at the Supreme Court and the Appeal Court concerning the incident.

Mr Gunawardena and his family deny the accusations.

Video: IGP responsible for DIG's actions:SF

Wednesday, 12 June 2013

Former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka said today the Police Chief N.K. Illangakone should take responsibility for the conduct of his subordinates including the high ranking police officers who are alleged to have been involved in killing several Sri Lankans.

“If the Police Chief is doing his job properly this sort of thing can’t happen. The fact that a DIG had allegedly committed such crimes speaks volumes of the administrative problems faced within the department and therefore the Police Chief has to take direct responsibility for what’s happening,” he said.

The war hero and veteran soldier said the Police Chief should not pander to politicians and their whims and fancies which is evident in the current scenario.

“The Police Chief should not pamper politicians so as to safeguard his job. If that’s what he is doing then he is an unsuccessful as a Police Chief and has failed in his duty to the people.  We urge him to take action against other senior officers who also might be involved in such crimes” Mr. Fonseka said.

He said he feared that DIG Vaas Gunawardena would also be made a state witness and thus be allowed to get off scot free.

“We have seen how extortionists, murderers and other criminals have been set free and I fear this might also happen in this case. The arrested DIG is a close confidant of a top defense official and this is why he was appointed DIG despite his questionable record,” he said.  By Sanath Desmond - See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/30794-igp-responsible-for-conduct-of-errant-police-officers-sf-.html#sthash.ms2hgKXH.dpuf

Mahinda’s miracle: State institutions’ losses amount to Rs. 200 billion

Wednesday, 12 June 2013 

The Mahinda Rajapaksa government in its endeavor to create the Miracle of Asia has managed to push the country into an economic abyss with state institutions that recorded profits in 2005 being converted into massive loss making enterprises by 2012.

It indeed is a miracle to be able to convert profit making institutions into loss making ones in seven years.

The Finance Ministry has stated that the losses of 55 state institution amount to Rs. 200 billion last year.

It was last week reported that from contributing Rs. 32 billion in profits eight years ago, state enterprises now burden economy with Rs. 107 billion in losses.

The Treasury had reported that the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), which reported a Rs. 9.8 billion profit in 2005, sustained a Rs. 89.6 billion loss in 2012. The Ceylon Electrcity Board (CEB), reported a loss of Rs. 6.8 billion in 2005 which grew to Rs. 61.1 billion in 2012.

SriLankan Airlines, which made a Rs. 834 million profit in 2005, incurred a Rs. 25.9 billion loss in 2012. The budget carrier, Mihin Lanka which did not exist in 2005, saw losses increase from Rs. 1.9 billion in 2011 to Rs. 2.8 billion in 2012.

The Sri Lanka Transport Board, which reported a Rs. 1.1 billion loss in 2005, saw losses increase to Rs. 4.6 billion in 2012.

The Agriculture and Agrarian Insurance Board saw losses increase from Rs. 98 million in 2005 to Rs. 4.8 billion in 2012.

The Janatha Estates Development Board made a loss of Rs. 135 million in 2005, which grew, to Rs. 252 million in 2012.

The losses made by a majority of the state owned enterprises have outdone the commendable performance of the few who continue to function as profit making entities.

Also, the CPC and CEB had borrowed Rs. 200 billion to address their financial crises.

Rupee sinks to 6-month closing low

June 12, 2013

Reuters – Sri Lanka’s rupee dropped to the lowest close in nearly six months on Tuesday, weighed down by banks’ demand for dollars to settle bond-related sales and importer buying of the U.S. currency, dealers said.

The rupee, which hit 127.80 per dollar in intraday trade, ended at 127.75/85, its lowest close since Dec. 19. It had closed at 126.55/60 on Monday.
“We see some small-time bondholders pulling back with the U.S. treasury yields moving upward,” a currency dealer said.
“They are also concerned over interest rates further coming down after the central bank’s comments.”
Dealers also said importers were buying dollars on concerns that the local currency may depreciate further.
The Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal, after holding key policy rates steady on Friday, said the monetary authority would issue guidelines to direct banks to cut lending rates and narrow the gap with the inflation rate.
The rupee has weakened 0.2% so far this year following a 10.7% depreciation in 2012 as the central bank allowed for a flexible exchange rate regime in February 2012.

A government lost in a sea of cynicism

12 JUNE 2013

BY TREVOR GRANT

It was 16 years ago but the memory of the Australian navy and air force charging to the rescue of lost sailors in a yacht race still resonates as a clear statement of Australia’s commitment to the law of the sea.

Then - when it was revealed that it had cost taxpayers a staggering $16 million to rescue three sailors in this race – there were the declarations from Government and the defence forces that there would never be any consideration of cost in matters of life and death.

It was a sentiment re-iterated five years ago by the then Australian Defence Minister, Joel Fitzgibbon, who spoke strongly about the country’s international obligation to undertake search-and-rescue operations on the high seas.

His words came after the navy frigate HMAS Arunta, and its 100-person crew, was sent deep into the Southern Ocean to find another racing yachtsman. “We will continue to do so,” he said proudly, and unequivocally.

Fast forward to June, 2013 and the decision by the Government authorities to leave dead bodies floating in the sea in Australian waters off Christmas Island after another asylum-seeker boat tragedy.

A day or so earlier, according to media reports, the authorities had taken several hours to react to the initial sighting of this boatload of asylum-seekers, about 60 nautical miles from Christmas Island. Apparently they were still alive at the time.

In the space of the next few hours it appears the boat disappeared and many people drowned. Immigration and customs officials say the bodies would probably not be retrieved because there were not enough resources to do this while searching for possible live victims from the sinking of the boat.

Clearly circumstances are different in every sea rescue. However, a principle was re-stated with such clarity by the former defence minister in 2008 that you would believe that this Government would never approve of five-hour delays on search-and-rescue missions or allow dead bodies to float away, knowing the trauma this would cause to relatives and others.

This apparent difference in Government reaction to rescue and recovery on the high seas prompts many deeper questions about the issue of asylum seekers. These were unambiguously stated by the ABC’s Fran Kelly on Radio National Breakfast this week during an interview with Immigration Minister Brendan O’Connor.

“If this was a ferry with Australians on board that had capsized, there’s no way those bodies would just be left, there’s no way a Government Minister would not take some action there,” Kelly said.

Of course, despite the Minister’s protestations, we all know that Kelly is right. The bodies of Australians would be recovered come hell or high water.

The fact that the Government feels it is okay to allow these bodies to drift away is at the heart of this issue. Two weeks earlier 28 life jackets were found washed up on a beach at the Cocos Islands, off Western Australia’s north-west coast, a known destination for asylum seekers. There was no attempt at a search, or intensive investigation. Just a statement from the Australian Federal Police stating it was common for debris to be washed up there.

Again, the question hangs in the air. Would the same standard apply if these jackets were washed up on a beach in an area frequented by Australians in boats rather than asylum seekers? And even if there was an initial lack of information, as in this case, would the police put it in to the too-hard basket so quickly? Or, more importantly, would they be allowed to do so?

Again we all know the answer, because, through its actions, not its words, we have come to know that the Australian Government believes that the lives of asylum-seekers are more expendable than others.

The Australian Government has a name for people who come by boat. They are IMA’s (Irregular Maritime Arrivals). It is all part of the bureaucratic terminology that allows politicians to define these people as anything but human.

This Government, and its Coalition echo on refugee policy, has one abiding fear. It’s that Australian people will discover asylum-seekers are human beings. Next thing we will be demanding that they be treated like human beings.

Better to leave their bodies float off like animals to be swallowed by the sea.

© JDS

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Trevor Grant is a former chief cricket writer at The Age, and now works with the Boycott Sri Lanka Cricket Campaign and the Refugee Action Collective.