Should Australia be doing more to help Sri Lankan civilians affected by the conflict?

18 May 2009
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As the government of Sri Lanka declared an end to its decades-old war with the Tamil Tigers, thousands of Tamil demonstrators around the world called on the international community to  help Sri Lankan civilians caught up in the conflict.  

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Mr

stanley horne - from Hobart, 3 years ago

Tamil people have supported their race of people in a vicious civil war for decades and have lost.They deserve no more and no less than the legitimate government of Sri Lanka gives them.The Tamils have acted in a racist and inhumane manner and do not deserve to join the long international queues of peaceful persons wishing to immigrate to western democracys.Let them go to india .It is a country that could easily absorb them in a cultural manner and they can be as poor as they are now.

why is SL govt still letting people suffer post war?

observer - from Canberra, 3 years ago

To all of you still flaunting the SL gov's victory - get over it. As you've all mentioned (and I agree with you) the war is over, the politcs are over. But the HUMANITARIAN ISSUE still persists. So given that there is no longer a 'conflict' then why is the Sri lankan govt still denying 300,000 internally displaced Tamil civillans food, water and medication. So much fot the SL govt bring about peace...denying people their most basic neccessities...is NOT PEACE.

Tiger or A Lion??

Chris - from VIC, 3 years ago

The male lion is well known for sitting around like an ass and letting the female lioness hunt, while the tiger is much faster and does not need a female to hunt and defend. Such a difficult choice??I guess I'll take my chances and be a Tiger. . .

Re:Reconciliation

Florine - from Colombo,Sri Lanka, 3 years ago

It is a well- known fact that Aid Agencies are pro-LTTE with views biased against the SL government. If reconciliation is to take place we cannot afford any sort of biased interference/instigation. This is a costly win - the nearly 60,000 people who died during this conflict were sons, daughters, mothers & fathers too! The thousand's of IDP's languishing in camps all over SL for nearly 20yrs (not 6 months)are as human as the 300,000 in Vavuniya - only thing is they are not Tamils

help Sri Lanka

eddy - from western australia, 3 years ago

I think Australia should help Sri Lanka to rebuild. But not get involve with the internal affairs.Being neighbours we help one another in times of need.We should not allow illegal immigration by boat people bringing in terrorist. Some of these murderers,crooks cannot come legally,use this method. We should encourage family reunion or migration the proper way. In our war against terrorism we should be firm and fair.There is no good or bad terrorist. But a terrorist is a terrorist.

Mr.

Anuruth - from sydney, 3 years ago

Australia who signed UN -convention for refugees and asylum seekers has liablity to accept refugees from war zones. We have 10000-12000 migrant allocation for refugees each year. This year and year starting 2009 july, We can accomodate more Tamils from war zones as UN identyfied SL govt did war crimes. Same time we can send our missionaries or give money to existing NGOs but not at all to SL govt at anytime.

LTTE vs AlQueda

Shaun - from Perth, 3 years ago

what would the federal government do if Al Qaeda supporters suddenly start protesting in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth asking to stop American attacks in Afghanistan etc? Whats the difference between LTTE and Al Qaeda? Both are ruthless terrorist organizations which have killed thousands of innocent civilians brutally!

People smuggling

Troy - from Brisbane, 3 years ago

We cannot fathom how the Sri Lankans must feel.
Their government would rather keep up appearences and let people starve to death rather than let in a willing international community of aid workers in.
It's no secret a lot of innocent people died in this conflict at the hands of the government.
Why try and hide it now?
Australian government - We are one planet, one world. Stop thinking we are one country.
We should be welcoming refugees with open arms and a new start from these war torn countries.

Let media into Sri Lankan War Zone

Harry - from Sydney, 3 years ago

Question has to be asked why isnt the sri lankan government letting media and aid agencies into the former conflict zone. I suspect they will bury the dead civilians before they allow any outsiders in to see the stark reality of the so called Safe Fire Zone.

The Tamil people's Struggle for Freedom will continue

HELP SAVE TAMILS - from sydney, 3 years ago

Now that the SL State / Sinhalese are sure that they have wiped out the guardians of the Tamil people, the Tamil Tigers, the Armed Forces of Tamils, it no longer has an excuse to slaughter Tamils. Or so we hope. But the unfortunate reality will be that, the SL state will continue to arrest, torture & kill Tamils saying they are LTTE sympathisers. Our struggle for Freedom with Justice is not over yet. If anything, this is a New beginning! sites.google.com/site/helpsavetamils

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