The Devils Advocate; A response to
Rt. Rev. Rayappu Joseph's letter to Australian
Government
By Fr.
Nicholas Selvaraja
 Under
the cover of darkness a group of people board a rickety
old fishing trawler to make the trip to their
destination dreaming of a luxurious life down under. The
mafia and their agents that operate the human smuggling
operations entice unsuspecting individuals into paying
thousands of dollars promising them jobs once they reach
their land of promise. What these economic refugees do
not know is the gravity of the arduous journey or the
immigration laws of the country they are heading for.
Most of these illegal human smuggling
vessels are apprehended by the Sri Lank Navy within Sri
Lanka's territorial waters. Some others manage to make
it only to be arrested by Australian authorities. The
continuous string of boat people has become a
contentious issue for the Australian government. In
order to curb the menace of economic refugees Australia
has toughened its border protection laws and re
established detention centers in Nauru and Papua New
Guinea's Manus Island. The government of Australia has
accepted the fact that these supposed 'asylum seekers'
are indeed driven solely by economic means and not
otherwise.
The three decade long war brought
untold miseries and hardship to Sri Lankans irrespective
of race or religion. Sri Lanka has seen its share of
controversial figures in the past and still continues to
do so. It is not surprising to note that their
controversial nature has sometimes brought effective
outcomes and changes in powerful nations. A person can
call himself a controversial soul but the issue is how
effective is his stance to prove his claim.
Rt. Rev. Rayappu Joseph is one such
controversial character who is being working hard to
promote LTTE separatist agenda. His actions and
utterances have come under criticism by one and all.
During the war he of all the people in an act of
vindictive and revengeful purpose blamed the government
for the disappearance of over 146,000 people. Whereas he
never uttered as much a single word against the
terrorist when they held and herded the hundreds and
thousands of innocent tamil civilians including women
and children from place to place placing their lives as
a human shield and a bargaining chip against the
advancing troops. He made such hue and cry when the
government troops were trying to clear the areas
including the sacred sanctum of the Madhu shrine where
the LTTE tigers have fortified their positions with
bunkers and launched attacks at the troops. His
duplicity and down right complicity and also the support
to the LTTE tigers was broadly highlighted to the world
when he on his own accord removed the sacred Statue of
our Lady of Madhu from its safe sanctity to further into
the terrorist held territories thereby compromising its
safety.
At a time when Sri Lanka is rising up
from the decades long sufferings and terror, the clergy
like Bishop Rayappu Joshep have a vital role to play, if
they are genuine enough to be true crusaders of peace.
His recent remarks at a skype meeting
organized by the NGOS and human rights groups in Sri
Lanka a day prior to the 14th session of Universal
Periodic Review in Geneva is detrimental to the
country's image in the post conflict era and also
threatening the hard earned peace over defeating the
LTTE's scourge. Moreover, it is far beyond the truth.
With no proper proof to claim, he went to the extent of
claiming the government for human rights violations in
the country. All the while he was crying out loud of not
being an LTTE terrorist sympathizer he was carrying out
its orders without impunity.
 There
are numerous instances where he had publicly displayed
his support to the terrorist organization. Just to
mention one, Once he hoisted the LTTE flag at a
rally in Mannar town condemning the killing of a top
rung terrorist leader and was audacious enough to make a
statement defending his action. Such is the action of a
man who has made his elevated position to undermine the
actions of a legitimate democratically elected
government to support an internationally banned
terrorist organization. How far the church could trust
him is debatable.
Once again the Bishop of the Realms
has exhibited his inanity and brought upon himself the
wrath of the peace loving people by writing to the
Australian authorities urging them not to deport any
illegal Sri Lankan refugees. According to his
letter dated 03rd December and
addressed broadly the deported Sri Lankan are meted out
with restrictions, intimidations and also subjected to
questionings and surveillance and other forms of
harassments and discriminations by the military and
police. He says the lives of these people are under
threat.
What we like to say is even
foreign diplomats including British diplomatic officials
have accepted that there are no abuses or threats to lives of
deportees whether they are Tamil, Sinhalese or Muslims
in Sri Lanka.
Is the Rev. Bishop is so knowledgeable as to discern and
speak on behalf of the more than 1360 deportees sent to
Sri Lanka from Australia, the United Kingdom and Togo.
So far not a single one of those deportees have come out
complaining of any threats to their lives or any other
forms of intimidation or abuse from state authorities.
In fact they have publicly praised the way they have
been treated upon their arrival to Sri Lanka. Australia
alone has deported about 550 Sri Lankan refugees from
September to November 2012. Well that speaks volumes of
the confidence placed on the government of Sri Lanka by
the Australian authorities. Australian authorities have
admitted to the fact that these boat people are indeed
economic refugees and is the Rev. Bishop so high and
mighty to dictate terms and restrain them from
practicing their laws and deport the refugees whom they
have deemed unfit to be granted entry into their country.
 Is
it considered such a crime to execute the laws of the
land on individuals who have breeched immigration and
emigration rules? Can any responsible government give a
free pass and let its citizens take boat trips across
the ocean to foreign countries as and when they please,
flouting local and international laws?
Bishop Rayappu Joseph goes on to state
the removal of INGOs from the North and East. The
government has not placed any restrictions on the
operations of not a single reputed INGO from Sri Lanka.
In fact a host of INGOs are involved in a wide array of
issues pertaining to education, livelihood development,
health and sanitation, counseling, demining and other
humanitarian issues. That includes UN organizations as
well. I like to ask the Rev. Bishop as to which
legitimate INGO that has been sent away from the North
and East. If he is talking about all the outfits and
so-called INGOs that acted as LTTE proxies and tried to
carry on their sinister agendas, he is correct, the
government did send them away as they were nothing but
terrorists in a different form wearing a different
costume.
The Rt. Rev. Rayappu Joseph has not
given up the futile effort in carrying the separatist
agenda whereas his terrorist brethren have all been
wiped including his 'leader' Pirabaharan. The government
is committed in its post conflict reconciliation
efforts. When the people affected by the war are trying
to forget the past and rebuild their lives in
reconciliation with the others, It is the likes of these
LTTE remnants that are trying to rekindle the fire of
hatred and division among the peace loving people of Sri
Lanka.
It is high time not only for the
Catholics but all Sri Lankans to question Bishop Rayappu
how ethical of him to take the cover of the church and
the holy cloak to go against a united and peaceful
nation and its people.
In the absence of the LTTE terror he
needs to provide true 'spiritual comforts' to his
followers rather than making detrimental statements to
harm the hard earned peace of his motherland.
People don't want him to be 'silent'
but we want him to be a voice with true facts to gain
sympathy to his own people who strive hard to stand on
their own feet. It is not the time for him to be a
sympathizer of terror but to wear cloaks of a true
messenger of peace.
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