Canberra, Oct 3 (UNI) A group of New South Wales (NSW) parliamentarians have assured Sri Lankan expatriates living in Sydney that they will table a report on human rights violations in the island nation at their next parliament session.
Peter Primrose and Anthony D. Adams together with NSW Parliament member Jamie Parker met the Sri Lankan group led by Jagath Bandara on September 21, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported on Monday.
Bandara told the Parliament representatives that the "brutal crackdown" on peaceful protests against the economic crisis in Sri Lanka by security forces has led to a rapid increase in human rights violations, to which a positive response was received from the Australian parliamentarians.
“Jamie Parker assured us that the reports we submitted on human rights violations in Sri Lanka will be tabled at the next parliamentary session... He said the Sri Lankan ground situation will be informed to the Australian government for necessary action. They are very concerned about the ongoing situation in Sri Lanka,” Bandara said.
According to Bandara, the expatriates will meet Federal Members of the Australian Federal Parliament soon to say how Sri Lankan forces were harassing protestors by detaining them for months under the guise of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and Emergency Regulations.
“The situation in our motherland is disturbing us. We are lobbying for Australian government to urge Sri Lanka to respect human rights and expression of freedom to air the grievances faced by the people. We are concerned about the ongoing situation in the country," the Daily Mirror quoted the Sri Lankan as saying.
"The protestors have so far not engaged in any unlawful activities but only against corrupt politicians and the skyrocketing cost of living that has resulted in malnutrition not only amongst children but also amongst elders."
UNI MR