Monday, December 24, 2012

Eelam lobbyists in Australia can tarnish Sri Lanka’s image before CHOGM



  • By  The Nation
  • Sunday, 23 December 2012 00:00
The average Sri Lankan, if questioned about Sri Lanka-Australia ties last week would have alluded to the on-going, closely fought Test cricket series between the two countries. Most of them would have heard of Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke, but not of Bob Carr.
Carr, the Australian Foreign Minister visited Colombo last week but he hardly captured the imagination of the media engrossed in the drama surrounding the impeachment of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake. However, his visit was an extremely significant event.
Since the conclusion of the Eelam war in 2009, it has almost become a tradition for western nations led by the United States and the United Kingdom to castigate Sri Lanka for alleged human rights violations during the final stages of the conflict.
This campaign reached a climax early this year when the United States sponsored a resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva against Sri Lanka. While most western countries indulged in this practice of Sri Lanka bashing, Australia didn’t.
The reason for most western nations to campaign against Sri Lanka was that these countries have formidable Eelamist lobbies which wield considerable influence on the powers that be in those countries to take up causes related to Tamil separatism.
It is not that Australia does not possess such groups. That country’s main cities, Sydney and Melbourne provide a safe haven for many Eelamists who are not shy to voice their sentiments supporting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
However, the government in Canberra headed by Prime Minister Julia Gillard has been keen to maintain cordial relations with Colombo, even when Australia’s allies in the western world and the Commonwealth took up positions against Sri Lanka.
A case in point is when the last Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) was held in Perth last year. With the next CHOGM due to be held in Hambantota in 2013, there were widespread calls for Australia to endorse a proposed boycott of the next summit.
That did not happen. Instead, when President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited Perth, instructions went out to provide maximum security to him to prevent embarrassing incidents he had to endure such as the cancellation of a scheduled speech while visiting Britain.
Another incident which could have strained relations with Australia was the alleged ‘abduction’ of Kumar Gunaratnam, the leader of the Frontline Socialist Party in April. Sri Lanka allowed Gunaratnam, an Australian citizen, to return to Sydney without pressing charges against him.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries may have been helped by such events, but this is not the main reason why Australia is keen to treat Sri Lanka as a friend and an ally rather than an adversary. In recent years, thousands of Sri Lankans have been arriving in Australia’s shores as refugees smuggled in boats. Thereafter they seek refuge in that country as ‘asylum seekers’. Until recently, they stayed in Australia for years until their ‘asylum’ claims were processed.
This is a major political issue in Australia. Prime Minister Gillard, scoring low on the popularity stakes, has been accused of being ‘soft’ on asylum policies. Now, Gillard has ordered such asylum seekers to be sent to other countries until their claims are assessed.
Because of this, Australian authorities are keen to stop boatloads of asylum seekers arriving there. Significantly, Canberra has realized that most such Lankan asylum seekers are not refugees fleeing ethnic persecution, but bounty hunters seeking better economic prospects.
Most of Bob Carr’s time in Sri Lanka last week was spent on discussing with Lankan authorities the measures that can be jointly undertaken to curb the flow of refugees from Sri Lanka -and this included assistance to the Sri Lankan Navy to patrol and monitor the seas.  
This issue presents Colombo with an opportunity to forge close diplomatic ties with Australia just as much as the CHOGM scheduled to be held in Hambantota is a chance to showcase Sri Lanka to the world not only as tourist destination but also as a vibrant democracy. While Australia remains friendly, the same cannot be said of the CHOGM summit. Canadian Prime Stephen Harper has threatened to boycott the summit. There are reports that the British government may request Queen Elizabeth, the head of the Commonwealth, not to attend.
Thus Sri Lanka’s status as host of the CHOGM is a double edged sword. While it provides Colombo a chance to redeem itself, it must be aware that the Eelam lobby based in the West will be keen to exploit the summit to tarnish the country’s image.
Recent developments including the impeachment saga can only help them. It is a reality that Colombo must accept and act accordingly. If not, the CHOGM may become a diplomatic disaster for Sri Lanka and its reputation could be in tatters by this time, next year.