Australian minister dispatched to Sri Lanka to demand a halt to refugees fleeing destitution – By Max Boddy Source:wsws.org Australia’s Labor government sent Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil to Sri Lanka last weekend to insist that President Gotabaya Rajapakse’s hated regime stop desperate asylum seekers leaving the poverty-stricken country. On Monday, O’Neil met with Rajapakse, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Foreign Minister GL Peiris, demanding assurances they would continue to block boat departures and accept the forced return of passengers pushed back or detained by the Australian Border Force or Australia’s navy. While O’Neil claimed her sudden visit was about assisting a country “facing very difficult times,” the Labor government’s purpose had nothing whatever to do with helping the masses of the island’s population. They face intolerable living conditions, including food and petrol shortages, skyrocketing prices and austerity measures imposed by the Rajapakse-Wickremesinghe government to satisfy the dictates of the ...
Jun 23, 2022
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Tagged Clare O’Neil .Gotabaya Rajapakse, Ranil Wickremesinghe.Australian navy
