In a landmark decision, the court ruled their two-year-old daughter had not been treated fairly – with the family’s future depending on the little girl’s visa status.

A series of court orders have barred the Australian government from deporting parents Nadesalingam Murugappan, known as Nades, and Kokilapathmapriya Nadesalingam, known as Priya.

They came to Australia by boat in 2012 and 2013 respectively, alleging they were escaping the Sri Lankan civil war.

Their two daughters, Kopika, 4, and Tharunicaa, 2, were born in Australia.

The family were moved to Christmas Island in August, with the couple saying they feared persecution back in Sri Lanka, having fled during the civil war.

On Friday, Federal Court Justice Mark Moshinsky found in favour of the family, with the matter resting on whether Tharunicaa has the right to apply for a protection visa.

He ruled Immigration Minister David Coleman had lifted the bar to consider a visa application for Tharunicaa in May last year.

This does not mean the government is required to issue the toddler with a visa, but marks an important point in their legal battle.

A court injunction last year prevented their deportation to Sri Lanka until legal proceedings were finalised.

The family want to return to the Queensland town of Biloela, and have been waiting on Justice Moshinsky’s decision since a two-day hearing in February.

Toddler Tharunicaa is considered an ‘unauthorised maritime arrival’ by authorities, despite being born in Australia.

Normally, holding this status means a person does not have the right to apply for a visa.

The rest of her family has not been found to be legally due Australia’s protection, and have exhausted any appeals process – meaning the family’s fate rests with their two-year-old daughter.

Having been moved to Christmas Island last year, the mother said her family had been separated from their home.

‘My children have been separated from their world,’ she said.

The court found that Mr Coleman had ordered a full departmental briefing on handling the family’s case, including the option that he exercise a power to allow them to apply for protection visas

That prompted an assessment in August, during which Justice Moshinsky said Tharunicaa was ‘not afforded procedural fairness’.

Lawyers now have seven days to tell the Federal Court what should happen next.

The family’s lawyers put forward two arguments in a two-day hearing in Melbourne in February.

Angel Aleksov said both Mr Coleman and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton had taken procedural steps that required them to make a decision on granting a visa to Tharunicaa.

Stephen Lloyd SC, representing the ministers, had claimed if Mr Coleman requested information on the family, he was saying ‘tell me what I could do’, rather than taking a formal procedural step.

The family will remain in detention while the process continues.

In recent weeks, at least 12 Sri Lankan asylum seekers have been deported from Australia, and at least one Iraqi national as well, who was deported despite a pending court date for an appeal.

The deportations are part of Australia’s harsh immigration policies relating to asylum seekers and refugees, particularly those who have arrived in the country by boat, and thousands are being detained in a network of facilities on Australia’s mainland as well as offshore.

 “The stories of how children, women and men are treated when they seek asylum in Australia are horrifying,” MIA, whose real name is Mathangi Arulpragasam, told Guardian Australia.

 “If the Australian government won’t treat refugees and asylum seekers with dignity and fairness, then it falls to the rest of us to make sure that they are given the best chance to rebuild their life in peace.”

MIA is a UK-born artist and activist, who was raised in Sri Lanka and India with her mother and Tamil activist father, who helped found the Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students. MIA returned to England with her mother and siblings as refugees after the family was displaced.

“If the Australian government won’t treat refugees and asylum seekers with dignity and fairness, then it falls to the rest of us to make sure that they are given the best chance to rebuild their life in peace.”

MIA is a UK-born artist and activist, who was raised in Sri Lanka and India with her mother and Tamil activist father, who helped found the Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students. MIA returned to England with her mother and siblings as refugees after the family was displaced.

She recently released a documentary, and has continued to advocate against the mistreatment and abuse of Sri Lankan Tamils, and refugees and migrants. She has now moved her sights to Australia’s frequent deportation of them.

“Deportation is not an option. In the case of Tamils in Sri Lanka, several organisations including the UN have outlined ongoing torture and intimidation of the community. Thousands of Tamils remain unaccounted for or forcibly disappeared in Sri Lanka.

“By refusing to participate in the forced deportation of fleeing asylum seekers, airlines have an opportunity to play an active role in protecting human rights.”

MIA’s voice adds to those of more than 60 people, representing business, human rights groups, unions and academia, who have signed a public statement calling for companies to respect human rights, and say that ignoring international law can damage a company’s reputation and risk its financial interests.

Qantas is now the subject of intense lobbying by unions, advocacy groups and the public, to follow the actions of some overseas airlines and boycott migrant deportations.

UK-based Virgin Atlantic said in June it would no longer assist the home office in deporting people classed as illegal immigrants.

Brynn O’Brien, executive director of the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR), told Guardian Australia there was a business risk for airlines such as Qantas in accepting contracts from the government to fly out those being deported.

This included domestic legs of international flights and involuntary transfers between detention facilities.

“Movement between places of detention, we hear from refugees, legal representatives and advocates, is a tactic that’s routinely used to make things difficult for people in the detention system,” she said.

“Forcible transfer, whether on domestic or international flights, looks pretty similar – people accompanied by guards, often in handcuffs.”

The Sri Lankans were returned to their country via a charter flight, but the Iraqi man is believed to have been flown out on a commercial jet from Perth and eventually to Baghdad.

It’s not known which airline he was assigned to, as there were several flights leaving that night, but Qantas has pointed out that it does not fly to Middle East destinations.

Sarah Dale, principal solicitor, Refugee Advice and Casework Service (Racs), said the deportation of the Iraqi national despite a court date revealed that there were no legal protections in place to prevent removals, “and airlines are participating in the removal of someone who has not had their rights afforded”.

A last-minute and unexplained transfer from a Sydney detention centre to Perth has also been questioned by the family of another Iraqi man, 22, who took his life this month.

Regarding its position on the deportation of asylum seekers, a spokeswoman said Qantas understood it was a sensitive issue.

“Our position is that the federal government and the courts make decisions on complex immigration matters, not airlines.”

O’Brien said cooperation by airlines left them open to the risk of protests by the public – such as the one by Swedish student Elin Ersson in Gothenburg – and the problem of airline employees having to respond to them.

“This is an issue for investors – we have a small shareholding in Qantas and approached them in our capacity as shareholders doing due diligence. They haven’t been forthcoming with information,” O’Brien said.

Keren Adams, the director of legal advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre, said, “the argument we’re putting to investors is they need more information about what Qantas is actually doing so it can assess their risk management processes.

“The Australian government’s refugee policies have been internationally condemned as putting lives at risk.

“Businesses, including airlines, that actively facilitate and profit from this system are complicit in abuse and risk exposing themselves to serious reputational liability.”

President Maithripala Sirisena is scheduled to speak at the UN during the UN General Assembly on September 25th.

The Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) said it will be holding a protest rally against President Sirisena outside the UN General Assembly in New York City, on September 25th from 12:00 to 2:00 pm.

The TGTE has accused the President of being responsible for the deaths of approximately 70,000 Tamils during the war.

“President Sirisena has admitted that he was the acting defense minister during the war when large numbers of Tamils were killed, including thousands who surrendered. The surrendered also included several babies and children. Almost 10 years have passed since their surrender and they still remain disappeared,” TGTE said.

Courtesy: Colombo Gazette

Several Sri Lankan security force officers and Military Intelligence threatened and abused the Mothers. One mother fainted and admitted to Geneva Hospital

An urgent appeal was made to the President of UN Human Rights Council H.E. Ambassador Vojislav Šuc, to take steps to ensure the safety of six Tamil Mothers of the disappeared when they return to Sri Lanka after giving statements at the current UN Human Rights Council session. These mothers were threatened and abused by Sri Lankan Security force officers and military intelligence at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). Names of the six mothers are attached in the bottom.

These Mothers are appealing UNHRC for help to find their children who disappeared in Sri Lanka and other thousands of Tamils who disappeared over the years. Several of the disappeared were surrendered by their families to the Sri Lankan security forces nine years ago at the end of the war. There are credible reports that around 18 thousand Tamils have disappeared over the years. So far, not a single military officer has been brought to justice for these disappearances.

This appeal was made by Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam’s (TGTE) United Nations Representative Mr.Suginthan Murugiah.

Six mothers of the disappeared are visiting the current UNHRC session in Geneva and are speaking at various Council forums appealing to member states to secure the release of their loved ones and around 18 thousand Tamils who disappeared or for information on the circumstances of their death. The families have collectively formed a group to search for their loved ones.

During the presentations by the Mothers of the Disappeared at the UNHRC side events, several current and former Sri Lankan security force officers and Sri Lankan Military Intelligence officers rudely interrupted their presentations and abused them by loudly shouting and using harsh and threatening words. As a result of the threats, the Mothers are severely traumatized and frightened. One of the mothers fainted at the UNHRC and was admitted to a Geneva hospital. These Sri Lankan forces also continually followed these mothers at UNHRC building and threatened them.

In a desperate move to find their loved ones, these mothers, along with thousands of other families, have been continuously holding hunger strikes, vigils and protests for the last one and a half years. They met the President of Sri Lanka, who promised to get the list of those surrendered to the Security forces nine years ago and who have not been heard from since. The President, however, did not fulfill his promise. The Mothers also met the Office of Missing Persons (OMP), but they too have not delivered on their promises.

As a last resort these mothers have come to the UNHRC to Appeal for urgent action. Here they have been harassed and abused by the current and former Sri Lankan Security forces and Military Intelligence officers.

“Imagine, if they face these abuses at the UNHRC what their plight will be when they return to Sri Lanka” said the TGTE.

“We urge the UN to ensure that these mothers who came to UN to appeal to for help to their loved ones are not harassed, arrested, abused or attacked by the Sri Lankan forces and military intelligence when they return to Sri Lanka. Any protection should also include their families, as previously their family members have also been harassed and attacked by Sri Lankan security forces and Military Intelligence.”

“We urge the President of the Council to request the Sri Lankan Government to ensure the safety of these six mothers of the disappeared and their families”

“The UNHRC, the premier human body of the UN, must ensure that victims who come to the Council are not harassed, abused or threatened while at the Council and their safety must be guaranteed when they return to their home countries”,” concludes the appeal.

The names of the six Mothers of the Disappeared who need protection are:

• SEBESTIAN DEVI of Trincomale, Sri Lanka.
• MARIYASURES EASWARY of Mullitivu, Sri Lanka.
• VALLIPURAM AMALANAYAKI of Batticalow, Sri Lanka.
• YOGARAJAH KANAGARANGINI of Kilinochi, Sri Lanka.
• ANANDA NADARAJAH LEELADEVI of Kilinochi, Sri Lanka.
• THAMBYRAJAH SELVARANI of Ampari, Sri Lanka.

Mr.Suginthan Murugiah

United Nations Representative

Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam’s (TGTE)

For information contact: secretariat@tgte.org

Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam

TGTE
+41-79-943-2420

The court on Thursday said accusations of participation in and support of a criminal organisation did not stand and released all of the accused.

It noted that the hierarchical link between the LTTE and WTCC was not sufficiently established. The judges also felt there was not enough concrete proof to consider the LTTE as a criminal organisation.

While the federal prosecutor Juliette Noto had asked for prison terms of between 18 months and six years for the accused, the court did not oblige. Eight of the thirteen on the docks were acquitted of all charges.

The others were only found guilty of fraud. WTCC’s finance manager and one of the accused who arranged loans from Bank Now (owned by Credit Suisse) on false pretences got a 24-month suspended sentence. The president of WTCC got 21 months while the finance manager’s deputy got 20 months in suspended sentences.

The whole process is estimated to have cost close to CHF4 million (4.03 million) which the federal government will have to bear. In addition to this amount, compensation for those acquitted, as well as lawyers’ fees total to almost CHF5 million. The accused will have to pay part of their lawyers’ expenses provided they have the financial means to do so.

During the eight-week trial, which opened in January and closed in March, the federal prosecutor requested sentences of up to six-and-a-half years in prison. The proceedings cost CHF3.8 million ($3.85 million).

The 13 defendants – 12 Tamils or Swiss citizens of Tamil origin plus one German – were accused of participating in or supporting a criminal organisation, fraud, forgery, money laundering and extortion.

During her indictment, Juliette Noto, a federal prosecutor, described a sophisticated system used by the WTCC to raise funds largely for armed struggle from the Tamil community in Switzerland. The Tamil community in Switzerland was systematically registered and its ability to pay assessed. Families who refused to pay were threatened, she said.

Details on the trial of Tamil Tiger financiers in Switzerland 

Noto cast the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE), who are represented in Switzerland by the WTCC, as a violent movement “whose effectiveness inspired Al-Qaeda”. Showing a picture of the WTCC leader behind a machine gun and images of child soldiers, she enumerated the attacks and crimes attributed to the Tamil Tigers. The prosecutor sought to demonstrate the informed involvement of the accused in supporting and funding the LTTE.

Legitimate combat 

In their pleadings, the defence invoked the legitimacy of the Tigers’ struggle against the Sri Lankan government’s repression of the Tamil minority. They argued that the money collected in Switzerland by the accused for the WTCC was mainly used for humanitarian purposes. The defence also challenged the prosecution of the accused at a time when Tiger resistance was collapsing in Sri Lanka.

During the hearings, the accused spoke at length about the repression suffered in Sri Lanka and the atrocities committed by the security forces. They kept silent when asked about their specific involvement.

The Tamil Tigers fought the Sri Lankan government from 1983 until its defeat in 2009. The movement claimed independence from northern Ceylon, populated mostly by Tamils. This conflict caused the death of some 100,000 people.

SDA-ATS/ds

The Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) said that it initiated a campaign titled “#GoBackMY3” to protest against the President’s visit to London to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government’s meeting.

The TGTE urged the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) to suspend Sri Lanka from the Commonwealth, until the Government fully implements the recommendations made by the UN Human Rights Council.

Failing this, the TGTE said that Sri Lanka should be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and a UN Conducted Referendum should be conducted for the Tamils to decide their future and to ensure a peaceful, permanent political solution.

Courtesy: Colombo Gazette

This was revealed according to data presented by Baroness Williams of Trafford who is the Minister of State, Home Department in response to a question asked by Lord Naseby in Parliament on Thursday as to how many Sri Lankans have sought asylum each year since January 2007; and how many were successful.

In 2007, some 988 applications had been made and 124 asylum status had been granted during the same year. 1,473 application had been made in 2008 followed by 1,115, 1,357 and 1,756 in the following years respectively upto 2011.

However, the number of total applications had been reduced to 961 in 2015 of which 179 asylum grants were made. In 2016, 845 applications have been made whereas only 687 applications have been made in the year 2017.

Grants by the British Government include grants of asylum, discretionary leave, humanitarian protection, and grants under family and private life rules.

Courtesy: Daily Mirror

The visit at this critical juncture was based on TNA’s and GTF’s continued engagement with the Government of Sri Lanka to encourage to implement their 2015 manifesto commitments and commitments made to all Sri Lankans and the international community, the GTF said in a statement.

The visit was significant especially considering that the US still hasn’t appointed an Ambassador in Geneva.

The delegation included, M A Sumanthiran, Member of Parliament of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Father S J Emmanuel, President of the Global Tamil Forum (GTF), now resident in Sri Lanka and members from the various member organisations from the US – United States Tamil Political Action Council (USTPAC), Canada – Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC), Norway – Norwegian Tamil Forum (NTF), Australia and the United Kingdom.

The primary objective of the visit was to brief the officials and governments of the ground reality considering the deteriorating situation with law and order, appraisal of status on the constitutional reform process and implementation of UNHRC resolutions 30/1 and 34/1.

Among other serious concerns, the delegation discussed the need to demand Government of Sri Lanka to commit to a timebound implementation plan of resolutions 30/1 & 34/1 of the UNHRC and the need for UNHRC monitoring and oversight over Sri Lanka beyond March 2019.

The delegation was delighted that the United Nations Under Secretary General for Political Affairs Mr Jeffrey Feltman and Director for Asia and Pacific Division Ms Mari Yamashita with her team spent substantial amount of time discussing their observations and of hearing out concerns of the delegation at the main UN building in New York. Under Secretary General Feltman’s team has been to Sri Lanka only weeks ago and had a very good understanding of the current political situation.

Deputy US Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Kelley E Currie, who is also the Representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, met the delegates at the US Mission at the UN Plaza, 1st Avenue. Ambassador Currie was well informed, reiterated US government commitment for the full implementation of HRC resolution 30/1 and promised to discuss points of concerns with the missions in Geneva and in Colombo.

Similarly, the Norwegian Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Tore Hattrem also agreed to share the delegation’s concerns with Oslo and the Norwegian Mission in Geneva recognizing the need for time-bound implementation plan with benchmarks.

On Tuesday, 20 March 2018, the delegation met with Ambassador Alice J Wells, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia and her senior staff, at the State Department in Washington DC. Ambassador Wells too was well informed, very engaged and discussed options and alternatives by way of questions and answers. Ambassador Wells also promised to discuss points of concerns with the missions in Geneva and in Colombo.

The GTF said the delegation also had the privilege to meet with the Senior Republican Congressman Bill Johnson and senior staff of the Foreign Relations Committee at the Hill.

Courtesy: Colombo Gazette

The Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam’s (TGTE) led by former LTTE member and peace negotiator Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, will hold its 8th Sitting of its 2nd Parliament from January 19th to 21st in Toronto, Canada, the TGTE said in a statement.

TGTE Members of Parliament from around the world along with TGTE Members of the Senate, Advisory Committee, Ethics Commission, and Election Commission, will be attending, the TGTE said.

The TGTE said that ut is expected that there will be a discussion on the impact of the upcoming Local Government elections and the Sri Lankan Government’s Interim Constitutional proposal on the Tamil national struggle to realize right to self-determination and to secure remedial justice.

TGTE “Cabinet Ministers” will submit their reports about the progress of their respective ministries to the Parliament for discussion and approval. TGTE’s annual budget will also be submitted to the Parliament.

Discussions will be also held about bringing legal actions under Universal Jurisdiction in various domestic judicial tribunals.

Several international dignitaries are attending and will speak during the opening Session. The TGTE Parliament or self-proclaimed Government members are not recognised by any country.

Courtesy: Colombo Gazette

The Geneva-based committee of 10 independent human rights experts has issued an interim measure formally requesting Australia not to return the man while his case is considered.

The man, whom the Guardian has chosen to refer to as Jyran, was told on 6 December by the department of immigration to prepare to be deported imminently from Australia.

Jyran faces arrest in Sri Lanka over his alleged links to the defeated separatist army the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam – the Tamil Tigers.

He is not alleged to have been a fighter: his arrest warrant states he faces charges of “assisting anti-government activities and supporting and assisting a terrorist organisation”.

The Tamil Tigers were ultimately defeated in 2009 after 26 years of brutal civil war.

The asylum seeker, an ethnic Tamil, went through Australia’s controversial “fast-track” refugee status determination process and was found to not meet the criteria for refugee status.

Under the fast-track system, no additional information can be brought after an initial protection application. Jyran did not present the arrest warrant in the first instance, later explaining he did not understand the Australian justice system and feared he would “get in trouble” because of it.

Having failed to produce the warrant, his protection claim was dismissed as not credible, and the Immigration Assessment Authority, which reviewed his case, chose not to consider the document after being presented with it.

But the UN committee heard that Jyran faced “state-sanctioned torture” if he were to be refouled. “It is highly likely that the outstanding arrest warrant will be exercised on his arrival in Sri Lanka,” Jyran’s lawyer, Alison Battisson, told the committee.

“Jyran will then be placed in custody. As a Tamil accused of assisting the LTTE, it is then highly likely that Jyran will be subjected to a range of torture practices, including rape.”

There has been widespread reportage of the mistreatment and torture of prisoners by Sri Lankan security forces, including the systematic use of rape.

In July this year the UN’s special rapporteur Ben Emmerson visited Sri Lanka and reported that “the use of torture, has been, and remains today, endemic and routine, for those arrested and detained on national security grounds”.

“Entire communities have been stigmatised and targeted for harassment and arbitrary arrest and detention, and any person suspected of association, however indirect, with the LTTE remains at immediate risk of detention and torture,” Emmerson wrote.

Arrest warrants over alleged links to the Tamil Tigers are often seen as highly politicised or based on limited, or no, evidence.

Battisson, the director of Human Rights for All, said the committee’s interim measure highlighted the serious issues faced by Tamil asylum seekers facing forcible return from Australia.

“By issuing this measure, the UN recognises that Sri Lanka is not safe for Tamils, despite Australia denying refugee status to many Tamils.”

Battisson said she was relieved the committee against torture had chosen to act, and quickly, to prevent the potential refoulement of Jyran.

“These interim measures are quite rare – this illustrates the very real concern the UN has over Australia’s practices of refouling Tamils to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is not safe for many Tamils to return to.”

A spokesperson from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection told the Guardian that people with no lawful basis to remain in Australia were expected to return home.

“Australia does not remove people to Sri Lanka who engage Australia’s non‑refoulement obligations. Australia takes its non-refoulement obligations seriously, including those under the convention against torture.

“The Australian government considers each interim measures request in good faith and has an established process for considering each request on its merits.”

The department said it would be inappropriate to comment further on individual cases.

The Guardian understands that Jyran remains in immigration detention in Western Australia.

Courtesy: Colombo Gazette