Sri Lankan Tamil family Priya and Nades, and their daughters Kopika and Tharunicaa, are known to most Australians as the Biloela family. They have been incarcerated in onshore and now Christmas Island detention centres. In the Geelong region and elsewhere in Victoria, further appeals by Sri Lankan Tamils to Courts have been rejected, and some now face deportation back to Sri Lanka in December and January. This action taken by Home Affairs comes despite further warnings by the United Nations of the dangers faced by those being returned.
However, there is little understanding of what may await the Biloela family and those like them if the Department of Home Affairs is successful in having them deported to Sri Lanka.
Earlier this year, Gotabaya Rajapaksa was re-elected President of Sri Lanka. His brother Mahinda also remains as Prime Minister. The Rajapaksa brothers’ re-election result comes despite their ‘Campaign of Fear’, according to Human Rights Watch, where opposition lawyers, activists, and journalists were targeted. This political thuggery included earmarked arrests, intimidation and threats. Alarmingly, Gotabaya’s other brother and two nephews have also been appointed as Ministers in his government. The Rajapaksa family have increased the military presence in the Tamil regions to the North and North East of Sri Lanka, and a recent amendment to the country's constitution gives unprecedented power to the President to continue the persecution of Tamils.
Persecution of the Tamil population, people mainly residing in the north and east, has continued since this minority group sought independence as a separate State. Violent anti-Tamil racial riots occurred over four decades. A ceasefire was signed in February 2002, but worse was yet to follow.
In 2009 Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother Mahinda played a major role in the oversight of Sri Lankan government armed forces killing thousands of men, women and children on the beach at Mullivaikal in the north-east. It is reported that by mid-May 2009, tens of thousands of bodies littered Mullivaikal and the area to its north-west. Many surviving Tamil rebels were tortured, mutilated and executed.
The continued persecution of Tamils has led to many fleeing Sri Lanka over the past ten years, with some landing on Australia’s shores — they have literally fled for their lives. At the beginning of August this year, 2,102 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in Australia had been recognised as UN convention refugees and granted Temporary Protection Visas. A further 962 were still awaiting their application interviews or results. We are aware of many more Sri Lankan Tamil refugees and asylum seekers in the Home Affairs system, and anecdotally, the disproportionate number of rejections. However, actual figures of this nature are not readily available from the Department.
'We have been told these facts, we have read the human rights reports, we have listened to the United Nations. The Australian government has this information, but continues to refuse to save lives.'
Those forcibly deported back to Sri Lanka have faced a resumption of persecution immediately upon their return. A Tamil refugee who escaped some years ago reported ‘…when a refugee is returned by Home Affairs to Sri Lanka, a representative of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) meets the returned person at Colombo airport. Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) then takes the person into custody and asks questions because the original departure from Sri Lanka was illegal. Out of fear the person will not want to tell the CID the real reason for leaving as this will impact on the person and his/her family. A bribe might help. The person may be bailed and then face ongoing court visits to report. However, you may not be bailed, but punished brutally, especially if your name is within their system — for being a freedom fighter in the past or working as a social activist for the Tamil people. Your file might still be there.’
The Australian Government continues to deport Tamil refugees, despite the warnings of advocates, reputable refugee organisations and consecutive United Nations rapporteurs on human rights. Independent lawyers who are appointed by the United Nations, the special rapporteurs cited the process of the Sri Lankan Government Armed Forces or police in arbitrarily holding, interrogating and regularly torturing returned Tamil refugees.
The Australian government’s response to this inhumane treatment of refugees returned to Sri Lanka has been to praise the Sri Lankan government’s efforts to thwart any asylum seeker attempt to leave Sri Lanka. Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott ‘donated’ two old Australian war ships to the Sri Lankan navy for this purpose.
We have been told these facts, we have read the human rights reports, we have listened to the United Nations. The Australian government has this information, but continues to refuse to save lives.
Sri Lanka is described by many as ‘Teardrop Island’. No doubt this refers to the shape of Sri Lanka, and adds a romantic touch to the popular tourist destination. Sri Lanka will continue to be called ‘Teardrop Island’, not because of its shape, but rather as an indication of the immense grief caused by decades of persecution and genocide of a minority group — the Sri Lankan Tamils.
Peter Coghlan is the co-convenor of the Combined Refugee Action Group.
Main image: Protestors holding placards in support of the Tamil asylum seeking family on September 18, 2019 (Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)