Occupation, Genocide, Aiding WAR and now making a mockery out of people seeking asylum almost seems to be imprinted in the Australian government’s white supremacist DNA.
This is not a Joke : the Australian government is organising a competition for Sri Lankan filmmakers to create work about “illegal migration to Australia”.
In fact, from this we can only assume that the Australian government’s “boat turn back” policy has failed and they are desperately looking for other “solutions” creeping disturbingly closer and closer to the “final solution”. Australia is renowned for creating one of the most xenophobic immigration policies designed by a so-called “liberal democratic” government. It is not a secret that in the past Australia has spent millions of dollars in PR for anti- immigration billboard campaigns in Asia.
Now the white Australian government is coming up with an idea that makes a mockery of people seeking protection from Sri Lanka by setting up this “film making” competition.
Tamils in the north east of this island went through a decade long WAR. Genocidal policies and land grab still continue under the Sinhalese supremacist regime. It’s not surprising that Australia, UK, US, Israel etc have provided the Sri Lankan government with military aid to massacre Tamil people in Sri Lanka.
In 2009, the UN and International NGOs left thousands of Tamil civilians to be massacred by the Sri Lankan government. Even the UN reports say approximately 100,000 Tamil civilians were killed in just the last few months of the war in the north of Sri Lanka. Just before this mass slaughter of Tamils by the Sri Lankan government, Kevin Rudd who became Prime Minister in 2007, funded the Sri Lankan military and provided funds for security cameras in the Sri Lankan airport to increase “border security”. Sucessive Australian government parliamentarians including parliamentarians from Scott Morrison’s government have visited Sri Lanka to talk about “illegal immigration” and “border security”.
This “competition” for Sri Lankan filmmakers :
is a slap in the face of rape survivors who are being told that it is “illegal” to seek protection from Sri Lanka.
is a slap in the face of genocide survivors who are being told it is “illegal” to seek protection from Sri Lanka.
is a slap in the face of torture survivors who are being told it is “illegal” to seek protection from Sri Lanka.
Australia has been normalising rape, genocide and torture in Sri Lanka by criminalising the seeking of asylum. Now, Australia is making a mockery out of it. White Australia, remember this: Lives of Rape, torture and genocide survivors isn’t casual art entertainment through a short film PR exercise.
RISE eX-detainee Board