{"id":1474,"date":"2016-03-31T21:44:28","date_gmt":"2016-03-31T21:44:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.southasiantimes.com.au\/?p=1474"},"modified":"2016-04-12T22:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-04-12T22:00:00","slug":"abbotts-sri-lanka-comments-excuse-war-crimes-tamil-refugee-advocates-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.southasiantimes.com.au\/?p=1474","title":{"rendered":"Abbott&#8217;s Sri Lanka comments &#8216;excuse war crimes&#8217;, Tamil refugee advocates say"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/southasiantimes.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/fool.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1475\" src=\"http:\/\/southasiantimes.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/fool-300x264.jpg\" alt=\"fool\" width=\"300\" height=\"264\" \/><\/a>The former prime minister <span style=\"color: #005689;\">Tony Abbott<\/span> has excused war crimes in comments that the Sri Lankan government\u2019s actions in its civil war were \u201cprobably unavoidable\u201d, Tamil refugee advocates have said.<\/p>\n<p>In an article in <span style=\"color: #005689;\">Quadrant magazine<\/span> Abbott <span style=\"color: #005689;\">defended his national security record<\/span> as prime minister: \u201cI\u2019m sure that the Sri Lankan president was pleased that Australia didn\u2019t join the human rights lobby against the tough but probably unavoidable actions taken to end one of the world\u2019s most vicious civil wars\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The foreign minister, Julie Bishop, has rebuked one aspect of his comment, telling Guardian Australia that the government had \u201cconsistently raised human rights issues with the former Sri Lankan government\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Abbott did not indicate what actions or lobby groups he was referring to.<\/p>\n<p>The United Nations has <span style=\"color: #005689;\">said it found evidence \u201cstrongly indicating\u201d<\/span> war crimes, including torture, executions, forced disappearances and sexual abuse committed by the Sri Lankan security forces against the country\u2019s Tamil ethnic minority, who were fighting a separatist war.<\/p>\n<p>Asked about allegations of torture in 2013 at a Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Sri Lanka, <a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/pmtranscripts.dpmc.gov.au\/release\/transcript-23094\" data-component=\"in-body-link\" data-link-name=\"in body link\"><span style=\"color: #005689;\">Abbott said<\/span><\/a>: \u201cThe Australian government deplores any use of torture &#8230; wherever it might take place.\u201d He added: \u201cBut we accept that sometimes in difficult circumstances, difficult things happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tamil Refugee Council convenor Trevor Grant told Guardian Australia \u201che excused torture then, now he\u2019s excusing war crimes\u201d.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"element element-rich-link element--thumbnail element-rich-link--upgraded\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-3 | 2\">\n<div class=\"rich-link tone-news--item \">\n<div class=\"rich-link__container\">\n<div class=\"rich-link__image-container u-responsive-ratio\"><img src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/static\/sys-images\/Guardian\/Pix\/pictures\/2014\/2\/5\/1391589424178\/5616bacf-e477-458a-994b-93566de13a6b-620x372.jpeg?w=460&amp;q=55&amp;auto=format&amp;usm=12&amp;fit=max&amp;s=269dd0aad17db413ffc043dccd21bcf2\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-link__header\">\n<h1 class=\"rich-link__title\"><a class=\"rich-link__link\"><span style=\"color: #005689;\">UN calls for Sri Lanka war crimes court to investigate atrocities<\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-link__standfirst u-cf\">Government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels most likely committed war crimes during 26-year civil war, report says<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-link__read-more\">\n<div class=\"rich-link__arrow\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-link__read-more-text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Grant said Abbott\u2019s comments were \u201cpredictable but despicable\u201d as Abbott had \u201ca history of aligning himself with the brutal [Rajapaksa] regime\u201d, referring to their cooperation on stopping boats of asylum seekers from <a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/srilanka\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" data-link-name=\"auto-linked-tag\"><span style=\"color: #005689;\">Sri Lanka<\/span><\/a> reaching Australia.<\/p>\n<p>For Abbott to say that sort of thing flies in the face of all known facts, put out there not just by Tamil groups but also by independent investigators of the UN.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grant said <a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2015\/sep\/16\/un-seeks-special-court-to-investigate-sri-lanka-war-atrocities\" data-component=\"in-body-link\" data-link-name=\"in body link\"><span style=\"color: #005689;\">UN reports in 2015<\/span><\/a> and <a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2012\/nov\/14\/report-damns-un-sri-lanka\" data-component=\"in-body-link\" data-link-name=\"in body link\"><span style=\"color: #005689;\">2012 had concluded that the Sri Lankan military bombed hospitals<\/span><\/a> and no-fire zones.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"http:\/\/www.un.org\/News\/dh\/infocus\/Sri_Lanka\/The_Internal_Review_Panel_report_on_Sri_Lanka.pdf\" data-component=\"in-body-link\" data-link-name=\"in body link\"><span style=\"color: #005689;\">The 2012 report<\/span><\/a> also found the Tamil Tigers were responsible for human rights abuses, including forced conscription of teenagers for their military service and as suicide bombers.<\/p>\n<p>Grant called on Bishop to reject the claim the Sri Lankan government\u2019s actions were unavoidable, which he said was \u201cwrong and dishonest\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Australian Tamil Congress national spokesperson Sam Pari said \u201cit is disappointing that rather than upholding human rights, Abbott chose instead to please the Sri Lankan president who failed to protect and promote international human rights law and international humanitarian law\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Human Rights Watch Australia director, Elaine Pearson, said Abbott\u2019s comments were unacceptable and offensive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe UN has described the final stages of the war as a bloodbath \u2013 <a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2012\/nov\/14\/report-damns-un-sri-lanka\" data-component=\"in-body-link\" data-link-name=\"in body link\"><span style=\"color: #005689;\">tens of thousands of people were slaughtered in indiscriminate shelling<\/span><\/a>. To suggest that war crimes are \u2018tough but probably unavoidable\u2019 is giving a green light to abusive leaders and armies everywhere,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is a slap in the face to the tens of thousands of victims of wartime atrocities and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Abbott said Australia and Sri Lanka \u201cbecame even stronger partners in the Abbott government\u2019s most urgent initial task: to end the people-smuggling trade that had resulted in more than 1,200 deaths at sea, more than 50,000 illegal arrivals by boat and more than $10bn in border protection budget blow-outs\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Labor\u2019s foreign affairs spokeswoman, Tanya Plibersek, said: \u201cI think it would be a good thing for the foreign affairs minister to have a few words to Abbott about some of these comments.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"element element-rich-link element--thumbnail element-rich-link--upgraded\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-3 | 3\">\n<div class=\"rich-link tone-comment--item \">\n<div class=\"rich-link__container\">\n<div class=\"rich-link__header\">\n<h1 class=\"rich-link__title\"><a class=\"rich-link__link\"><span style=\"color: #005689;\">Without trust, Sri Lanka cannot investigate its own war crimes<\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<div class=\"rich-link__byline\">Sonya Sceats<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-link__standfirst u-cf\">A UN report is set to reveal harrowing crimes. But the survivors do not believe their government is capable of ensuring justice<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-link__read-more\">\n<div class=\"rich-link__arrow\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-link__read-more-text\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cOne of the reasons Australia is so well regarded internationally over the course of our history is because we are a responsible international citizen and part of that means standing up against human rights abuses, whenever they happen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s not lecturing our neighbours, that\u2019s just being a good international citizen that says that we value democracy and we value human rights and we value them not just for Australians but for all people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Julie Bishop says Australia has welcomed Sri Lanka\u2019s recent commitments to establish independent and credible criminal and transitional justice mechanisms. \u201cIf effectively implemented, these proposals will provide Sri Lanka with a platform to achieve genuine reconciliation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor that reason, and as a long-standing friend, Australia stands ready to assist Sri Lanka as it implements these proposals for dealing with the past.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Abbott has been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Source: The Guardian<\/p>\n<p>Image source: UkTamils<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The former prime minister Tony Abbott has excused war crimes in comments that the Sri&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1475,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[17,5,9,10,6,19,33,2],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/southasiantimes.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/fool.jpg",300,264,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/southasiantimes.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/fool-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/southasiantimes.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/fool-300x264.jpg",300,264,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/southasiantimes.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/fool.jpg",300,264,false],"large":["https:\/\/southasiantimes.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/fool.jpg",300,264,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/southasiantimes.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/fool.jpg",300,264,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/southasiantimes.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/fool.jpg",300,264,false],"enternews-featured":["https:\/\/southasiantimes.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/fool.jpg",300,264,false],"enternews-medium":["https:\/\/southasiantimes.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/fool.jpg",300,264,false],"enternews-thumbnail":["https:\/\/southasiantimes.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/fool.jpg",300,264,false]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.southasiantimes.com.au\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.southasiantimes.com.au\/?cat=4\" rel=\"category\">Stories<\/a>","tag_info":"Stories","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southasiantimes.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1474"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southasiantimes.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southasiantimes.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southasiantimes.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southasiantimes.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1474"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.southasiantimes.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1476,"href":"https:\/\/www.southasiantimes.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1474\/revisions\/1476"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southasiantimes.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southasiantimes.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southasiantimes.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southasiantimes.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}