We will not forget: More than a year after Sri Lanka launched its final offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels, pressure continues to mount for an international tribunal into alleged war crimes. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon plans to appoint a panel of experts to look into a tribunal, something the Sri Lankan government says…
Showing all posts tagged Australia
Why is Australia really moving forward with net filtering?
A strong editorial in today’s Sydney Morning Herald on the Australian government’s proposed internet censorship regime (destined to both fail and embarrass): Stephen Conroy, the Communications Minister, is feeling the heat over his attempt to censor the internet for Australians. The latest critic is the US government. Conroy, of course, is used to criticism. Internet…
The Tamil desire for independence remains strong in Australia
Australian Tamils have spoken: 99.4 percent of those who cast votes in the Tamil referendum across Australia last weekend said “yes” to the formation of independent and sovereign Tamil Eelam in the contiguous north and east of the island of Sri Lanka. The results were announced Thursday at a press conference held at NSW State…
Tamils vote for independence — and will vote against Labor
My following article appears in today’s Crikey: Australia’s Tamil community want an independent homeland in Sri Lanka. And they want respect from a Federal Government here that is now denying visa applications to their people. Last weekend saw thousands of Australian Tamils vote on the Vaddukoddai Resolution in a show of support for an independent…
Australia once again uses refugees as punching bag
After the Australian government announced the re-opening of the remote Curtin detention centre, these suggestions are completely supported: Human rights barrister Julian Burnside QC, who was an outspoken opponent of the Howard government’s asylum-seeker policies, said the Rudd government was following the same policy trajectory and urged people to punish Labor by voting for the…
How much do we know about Frank Lowy and his beloved Israel?
In my book My Israel Question I discuss the role of Australian Jewish billionaire Frank Lowy and his closeness to Israel. This story, in Haaretz yesterday, reveals both his unhealthy relationship with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and largely unreported role in supporting the Zionist state: The event on Thursday afternoon at the Auschwitz-Birkenau…
Rudd government treats refugees as political footballs
Welcome to Australia, a Federal government that wants to be “tough” on asylum seekers, clearly makes policy on the run and is increasingly reminiscent of the previous Howard regime. Brutes. The only major party in Australia that makes humane sense is the Greens and people remember (look at the UK, where Liberal Democrat leader Nick…
Hands up the Tamils who still want independence?
This weekend Australia’s Tamil community voted on establishing an independent Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka. The vote – also occuring in other nations around the world – has no real political power but may prove the strength and determination of the Tamils to continue their struggle for independence:
Iran lectures the world about NPT responsibilities
A timely article by Iran’s foreign minister in the London Independent. It’s almost inconceivable that an Australian outlet would publish this, Tehran being “the enemy” and all: Despite the empty boasts of the US about the achievements of its Washington conference on nuclear disarmament, the world still faces the threat from tens of thousands of…