By Sue Bolton
MELBOURNE — On October 24, 12 Tamil asylum-seekers at the Maribyrnong Detention Centre ended a hunger strike which was an attempt to force the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Phillip Ruddock, to look into their case.
The asylum-seekers had been on hunger strike since October 12 after the Australian government announced on June 13 that it would not grant refugee status to Tamils who arrived after November 1, 1993. This decision was premised on the false idea that it is now safe for Tamils to return to Sri Lanka.
In their submission to the minister, the Australian Council for Tamil Refugees (ACTR) pointed out that the current Sri Lankan government has no intention of finding a peaceful political solution to the civil war. The government still does not accept the Tamils' right to self-determination, and has no plan to protect the displaced Tamil population.
The submission states that Tamils in Colombo are subject to arrest and detention simply on the basis of their ethnicity. The only reason that some Tamils leave their homeland in the north and move to Colombo is because they fear the Sri Lankan armed forces' carpet bombing in the Tamil areas.
The Sri Lankan armed forces also use rape, starvation, torture and disappearances as weapons of war. Many Tamils have been terrorised into leaving their homes, only to face arbitrary arrest in Colombo.
The ACTR is calling on the Australian government to grant refugee status to Tamils who are fearful of returning to Sri Lanka, and that no Tamil asylum-seeker be returned against their will. It is also calling on the Australian government to facilitate international mediation to resolve the crisis in Sri Lanka.
Ruddock has not guaranteed that he will review the case sympathetically and more public support for the Tamil refugees will probably be needed. Messages of support can be sent to ACTR at PO Box 383, Northcote 3070.