Dr.P.A.Samaraweera, Australia

During the last few weeks the hot topic in Australia was about bogus Tamil asylum seekers. The boat carrying 255 Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers which was turned around en route to Australia has now gone ashore in Indonesia. It has now come to light that the leader of the group, Kulaendrarajah Sanjeev alias Alex had been previously involved in human smuggling and deported from Canada. It is said that the Canadian Police is after his brother who is in the same trade, ‘human smuggling’.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The 78 people on board the ‘Ocean Viking’ is refusing to get off the ship and is in Indonesian waters. on Australian Prime Minister’s request the ship had been given a further extension till next Friday. Kevin Rudd who relaxed border rules on asylum seekers expects that Indonesia would let them disembark and be processed in Indonesian soil.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Meanwhile 27 who survived from a capsized boat had been taken to Christmas Island. Eleven remain missing.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The influx of bogus asylum seekers by human smuggling had rattled Australia and had swung elections in the past. National’s leader Senator, Barnaby Joyce, in an interview to the Australian Channel Nine News said, “… If Australia is to stop bogus asylum seekers, Kevin Rudd should take a brave and firm step and send the ‘Ocean Viking’ to Sri Lanka and process the asylum seekers in that country as they originated from there. This would stop future bogus asylum seekers who want to go to greener pastures to seek a better life-style, which is not a ground for refugee status..”

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Senator Joyce should be given credit for this statement as the goal of the bogus Tamil asylum seekers is to tarnish the image of Sri Lanka by saying that Tamils are been persecuted in Sri Lanka.