Saturday, 19 March 2005

Australian Foreign Minister says No Australian Aid to TRO due to LTTE Terror Links - Alexander Downer tells John Murphy that Aussie Tsunami Aid is Distributed Equitably

Hon Alexander Downer, the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, has reaffirmed that the no Australian Government assistance is provided to the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) because of its links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Replying to a question on notice by Mr John Murphy, the Labor Member for Lowe (NSW) in Federal Parliament on 16 March 2005, Mr Downer stated that “The Australian Government is not delivering assistance through organisations such as the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) that may be aligned with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which is gazetted as a terrorist organisation whose assets can be seized under Australian law”.

Mr Downer also said “Australian Government assistance is reaching those in need in all tsunami-affected districts, including the North and East”.

Though not a direct response to other recent statements in Parliament by Labor Members Mr Alan Griffin (Bruce, Victoria) and Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Victoria), Mr Downer’s replies address some issues raised by them.  During a wide-ranging, and otherwise balanced, speech on the impact of the Tsunami on Sri Lanka, Mr Griffin called for Australian Government recognition of the TRO despite acknowledging its links with the LTTE.  Ms Burke, while acknowledging the difficulty of separating truths from untruths, raised concerns of her Tamil constituents about ‘the iniquitous allocation of aid within Sri Lanka’.

Sri Lankan community leaders say that, at a time when the majority of Sinhalese. Tamil, Muslim, Burgher and Malay migrants in Australia are working hard to provide whatever possible Tsunami relief to Sri Lanka, the LTTE supporters have waged a campaign of misinformation in order to discredit the Sri Lankan Government, its Security Forces and other institutions.

Mr John Murphy’s questions on the distribution of Tsunami assistance to Sri Lanka, follows a familiar pattern of statements in the Australian Parliament.  On 7 December 2004, Mr Downer clarified to Mr Murphy that ‘The Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) is associated with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which is gazetted as a terrorist organisation in Australia. Given this association, the Australian Government has not funded TRO development programs’.  On 3 June 2004, in response to a question by Mr Murphy, Mr Downer stated that the Australian Government would not lift the ban on the LTTE.

Mr Murphy’s unbalanced and ill-informed statement on the Sri Lankan Elections, made on 23 March 2004, was roundly criticized several days later by Mr Don Randall, the Liberal MP for Canning.  Mr Randall said ‘If the member for Lowe wishes to be an apologist for a prescribed terrorist organisation in the form of the LTTE, then he is on very dangerous ground.  He also called Mr Murphy’s statement ‘a sordid and obsequious grab for the extremist Tamil Tigers in his very marginal electorate’.

The full text of Mr Murphy’s recent question and Minister Downer’s reply are given below, and can also be found in the Australian Parliamentary Hansard.

http://parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au/PIWeb/view_document.aspx?id=1014441&table=HANSARDR

Indian Ocean Tsunami (Question No. 582)

Mr Murphy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs, in writing, on 14 February 2005:

(1) What financial and other assistance has the Government provided to the tsunami relief effort in Sri Lanka.

(2) Can he confirm Australian aid is reaching all affected areas in Sri Lanka on the basis of need; if not, why not.

(3) Where are the Australian agencies serving the affected areas of Sri Lanka located and what are they providing.

(4) Can he say where the United Nations agencies serving the affected areas of Sri Lanka are located and what aid they are providing.

(5) Is the Sri Lanka Military assisting with the distribution of Australian aid to Tamils living in Northern or Eastern Sri Lanka; if so, what is their role.

(6) Is the Government monitoring the distribution of (a) Australian and (b) international aid to ensure its fair distribution to the affected areas of Sri Lanka on the basis of need; if so, what is the monitoring revealing; if not, what not.

(7) Is the Government working with the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation to ensure aid reaches the affected areas of North and East of Sri Lanka on the basis of need; if so, what are

the details; if not, why not.

Mr Downer: The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:

(1) The Australian Government has provided over A$10 million in emergency relief assistance to Sri Lanka mostly through multilateral agencies and Australian non-government organisations (NGOs). We provided a public health assessment team which made an important contribution to containing the risk of infectious disease outbreaks during the critical days following the tsunami in close cooperation with the World Health Organisation and the Sri Lankan Government. We facilitated the delivery of assistance from a range of Australian NGOs and private sector organisations. In addition, Australia's on-going bilateral program (A$23 million in 04/05) is being adjusted to respond to the challenges of the tsunami.

(2) Australian Government assistance is reaching those in need in all tsunami-affected districts, including the North and East.

(3) Australian NGOs funded by the Australian Government are operating in tsunami-affected areas throughout the country, in sectors such as the provision of shelter, restoring water and sanitation services, food security, and medical assistance.  The NGOs are CARE Australia, World Vision Australia, Australian Red Cross, Oxfam Community Aid Abroad, the Australian Foundation for the Peoples of Asia and the Pacific, Marie Stopes International Australia, AUSTCARE, Caritas, International Women's Development Agency, the Uniting Church of Australia, Interplast, the National Council of Churches Australia.

(4) United Nations agencies funded by the Australian Government are operating in tsunami-affected areas throughout the country. With Australian funding the World Food Programme is providing food relief, UNICEF is implementing water and sanitation and child education programs; UNDP is supporting livelihood and community reconstruction programs; UNHCR is providing shelter.

(5) No.

(6) Monitoring of the distribution of both Australian and international assistance is carried out by staff of the Australian High Commission in Colombo through direct visits to the affected areas, and by multi-donor verification missions in which Australia has participated, and through the funded organisations themselves. Monitoring reveals that aid is meeting emergency needs in all affected areas, including the North and East.

(7) The Australian Government is not delivering assistance through organisations such as the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) that may be aligned with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which is gazetted as a terrorist organisation whose assets can be seized under Australian law.

Addendum : Read more about Hon John Murphy

OPEN REPLY TO JOHN MURPHY, M.P 26 June 1999

Downer condemns LTTE suicide bomb attack - Media Release Dept of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia (1 Nov 2001)

Australia House of Representatives Hansard No 3, 2004 - Tuesday, 7 December 2004 - See Pages 141 - 142
Here below the URL :
http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/reps/dailys/dr071204.pdf
(See Question No 41 in page Nos 141-142 - Government of Australia, House of Representatives, Official Hansard, No 3, 2004 - Tuesday, 7 December 2004)

Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights in Sri Lanka (SPUR)

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