Why the increase in Sri Lankan asylum seekers?

9 Nov 2012, 6:56 pm   -   Source: The Conversation
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The Conversation

Sri Lankans keep coming. They know about Australia and its rich and empty land. They certainly know that civil society in Sri Lanka is no longer as safe, democratic and secure as it once was. (AAP)

Sri Lankans keep coming. They know about Australia and its rich and empty land. They certainly know that civil society in Sri Lanka is no longer as safe, democratic and secure as it once was. (AAP)

Until recently most 'boat people' seeking asylum in Australia have come from wartime situations or from dictatorships. But this is not the case for the increasing numbers coming from Sri Lanka.

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By James Jupp, Australian National University

Sri Lanka, a country of 20 million, has had democratic institutions and practices since 1931, when universal suffrage (including for women) was granted by the British. Sri Lanka was a poor country, but well-educated and with a range of social services and subsidies which reached the majority rural population. Power changed hands peacefully.

Today, there are many disturbing political issues which did not exist 40 years ago. These include the chaos and destruction caused by the long civil war between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers.

This marked the end of the steady affirmation of power by the majority Sinhalese Buddhist population over the minority Tamil Hindu people of the north and east. After years of grievances expressed through democratic politics, tensions burst into open warfare in 1983.

Civil war: 1983-2009

For almost 30 years, Sri Lankans were at war with each other. Civil order collapsed in many regions and armed attacks were common even in the capital of Colombo. The Tamil Tigers controlled large areas of the north and east, had a uniformed army and a small navy, and collected considerable support from a growing number of Tamil expatriates in Canada, Britain and Australia.

Emigration increased for both Tamils and Sinhalese as civil society began to collapse. Assassinations of politicians became common, as did the informal arrest and murder of prominent critics of the government. An Indian peace-keeping force arrived, fought and departed, leaving much hostility behind. In an extremely bloody finale on the east coast early in 2009, the Sri Lanka army defeated the Tigers and killed its leader Prabhakaran. The massacre and subsequent internment of Tamil civilians has remained a controversial topic ever since.

The Western powers, including Australia, were only marginally concerned. Their focus was on Islam, which is only a minor religion in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan government was consolidated by Sinhalese politicians, drawn to a major extent from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party under a new name.

This party, led by the Bandaranaike family, had entrenched Buddhism and the Sinhala language. New leaders, Mahinda Rajapakse and his close relatives, now replaced the Bandaranaikes, supported by parties as varied as Buddhist monks and the former Marxist revolutionaries of the JVP. Those who had sympathised with the Tamil Tigers had no future. Rajapakse won a landslide election as president early in 2010. He consolidated his power with the arrest and imprisonment of his opponent, General Sarath Fonseka, who had led the war against the Tamils.

The case of the Tamils

The message of all this, at least to many Tamils, has been that relations between different communities were now over, and Sinhala Buddhism was triumphant. One of the strongest armies in Asia backs the victorious government. Despite efforts to clear internment camps, many thousand of Tamils had lost their homes and livelihood.

There was little apparent prospect for educated Tamils to enjoy the social positions which had previously been theirs. Sinhalese settlers were being given land in former Tamil areas. Sinhalese police and soldiers were stationed in Tamil towns and villages. The vision of a democratic multicultural society seemed dead. Disappearances and arrests continued, being directed especially against critics of the Rajapakses.

None of this is meant to excuse the vicious and authoritarian nature of the Tigers. They specialised in assassinating Tamil leaders who disagreed with them. They recruited child soldiers from the villages. Many Tamils accepted that this was inevitable in a national struggle, including asylum seekers who have since been subjected to ASIO clearance on information from the Sri Lanka government.

Sri Lankans know more about Australia than many other Asians. Many asylum seekers have already got relatives living in Australia. Sri Lankans in Australia are equally divided between Sinhalese and Tamils, with the Burgher communities now declining. And these immigrants and refugees are not only Tamils.

Most boats start out from the region around Negombo. This is known locally as the “little Rome” and is predominantly Catholic. Christians in a non-Christian society may feel insecure as a minority of Buddhists become increasingly militant.

Special measures

Sri Lankans keep coming. They know about Australia and its rich and empty land. They certainly know that civil society in Sri Lanka is no longer as safe, democratic and secure as it once was.

Tamils have more reason to come than others. Many are well educated, English speaking and capable of becoming good immigrants. Past generations of Sri Lankans have settled into Australia very well. The Tigers are discredited and there is little danger of militancy within Australia.

Nobody deserves to be locked away in Nauru. Facilities for granting visas in Colombo are limited and numbers allowed into the “queue”, such as it is, are very small. For these reasons, the government must set up an emergency quota for Sri Lankans seeking asylum in Australia.

I have no potential conflicts of interest. I hav no financial or other support from grants, public or private. James Jupp

The Conversation

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Sri Lankan asylum seekers

daya weerasinghe - from Narvik,Norway, 7 months ago

One things for sure......I would be doing the same,if I were living in Sri Lanka........do all I can to get out of this bannana republick of Rajapaksa !

False information

Siddartha - from Colombo Sri Lanka, 7 months ago

First of all most Tamils are HIndus . Most Sinhalese are Buddshist. There is a large Chrisitan minority both amongst the Sinhalese and Tamils. The Brtish never favoured the Tamils in fact the gave the same opportunity for the Sinhalese too but they failed to take advantage and now say state the opposite, Infact many of what the Brtish did was detrimental to the Tamils and very beneficial to the SInhalese lile annexing the Tamil lands in 1833 to the Sinhalese south. creating Ceylon

Discrimination the Issue

Thullukan Crimea - from London Britain, 7 months ago

As long as SriLanka ethnically cleanses and discriminates Tamisl this will continue

Very good analysis

Punc - from Torronto Canada, 7 months ago

As a Sinhalese Sri Lankan I applaude the author of this article. Unitl discrimination of the Tamils stop this will continue. The world has to comple Sri Lanka to grant the Tamisl their just rights. Just like they helped them to defeat the LTTE

Centrelink

jj - from nsw, 7 months ago

I watched a Tamil refugee on TV complaining he can't live off Centrelink payments and wants more. He also lives in decent affordable public housing, while Aussies have to wait up to 10 to 15 years. Something is seriously out of balance here. They take the risks because they can, thanks to Labour's weakness...

One World

Bazzio101 - from Mt Colah, 7 months ago

The use of ethnicity as a tool for the proclamation or denial of acceptance has no place in any civilised, enlightened, or loving environment, and therein lies the problem ~ humanity as it stands, despite goodness knows how many centuries of religious instruction principally revolving around love for one another, equality, sharing, and peace, and supposed belief of such doctrines by goodness knows how many adherents, is but a snake-pit of greed, acrimony, and venomous accusation and retribution.

Mr

Mangala Ratna - from Sydney, 7 months ago

In my opinion it is a well written article. It is reflecting the current real situation in Srilanka. The truth of the matter is until the ethnic problem of the Tamil people is resolved the refugee issue is not going to go any time soon. Tamil people fleeing Srilanka in a very desperate situation to save their life but the srilankan Sinhala government try to put it in a deterrent picture to fake the world. In a way they are succeeded. The Australian government should know until the Tamils issue is resolved they can’t stop the boats from Srilanka.

Militant Buddhists?

J - from Perth , 7 months ago

Buddhists are not militant. Please do some more research. I expect more from SBS journalists!

Immigration & Asylum is not the issue

C - from Perth, 7 months ago

People don't understand that it is not a matter of letting people into our country, the real issue is the cause. The real problem is religion, corruption & political power struggles in other countries causing the mass displacement of humans. If you really want to help the world go to a country and help it become better, if it means coming here & learning to go back & make your country better - awesome, hats off to the Somalian's that have done this! Erase the cause of this problem!

Sri Lankan Asylum Seekers

Mike - from Colombo, 7 months ago

I feel sorry for the Australian readers of this article who have no idea about what is going on in Sri Lanka. Had the author (if we can call him that) bothered to read the papers, he would know that both Tamil and Sinhalese are on these boats seeking illegally to enter Australia. ECONOMIC refugees, no doubt about it. Stop the propaganda, those days are long over, the little boys and girls crying wolf are no longer believed.

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