Tamil diaspora organisations from Australia, the US and Europe, have submitted a proposal to the Australian government's expert panel on asylum seekers, to work collaboratively to tackle the abuse and exploitation of Tamil asylum seekers.
The proposal, led by Tamils Against Genocide, submitted in partnership with PEARL (People for Equality and Relief in Lanka), Tamil Youth Organisation - Australia (TYO-Australia), and Voice of Tamils, Australia.
Seeking to address the Expert Panel's request for civil society inputs, the submission said,
"In the context of Sri Lanka’s ongoing ethnic conflict and the attendant human rights abuses this is generating, Tamil refugee flows from the island are likely to continue unabated. Tamil Diaspora organizations wish to contribute to the safe management of these flows, working with international partners, by providing free passage on safe, managed ships to Tamils with UN refugee status."
"This proposal, drawing on the global Tamil Diaspora’s resources and skills, and working with international partners, will undermine and help contain the problem of abusive and exploitative people smugglers and the risks to personal and international security their activities entail."
Speaking to Tamil Guardian, Jan Jananayagam of TAG said,
"We are deeply concerned at the recent Austrlian asylum seeker tragedies at sea and are desperate to help."
"We hope the Australian government will open up our proposal to parliamentary debate and urgently engage with us to thrash out a desperately needed solution."
See here for full submission.
