John Murphy (Lowe, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the people I represent I again raise my very serious concerns about the conflict in Sri Lanka. On many occasions I have spoken of the violence and the violations of human rights in Sri Lanka. The many people who have been displaced and the families of those who have been killed surely deserve lasting peace. They deserve the chance to pick up the pieces and to resume their lives without the fear of violence, retribution and human rights breaches. I have heard too many heart-wrenching stories from many families who now peacefully reside in my electorate of Lowe. They are experiences that are difficult to retell and to comprehend, but if there is one thing that this appalling conflict has taught us it is that violence and a military solution is not the answer. Violence begets violence; war begets war. The never-ending cycle of violence has a devastating impact on humanity. Mahatma Gandhi got it right when he said, ‘An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind.’ All reasonable people, be they Tamil, Sinhalese or Muslim, are demanding a negotiated political settlement to bring lasting peace to Sri Lanka. They are demanding a resolution based on resolute political will, not military might. They recognise, as all reasonable people do, that no political, cultural or religious dispute justifies the loss of so many innocent lives.

To this end I am pleased that the Rudd government has persisted in its call for all parties in the conflict to move quickly to negotiations which take account of the reasonable aspirations of all people. It is vital that every effort be made to avoid civilian casualties and to act swiftly to mitigate humanitarian hardship in this conflict. That can never happen without a genuine ceasefire. The building blocks of self-determination cannot begin without a genuine ceasefire that is adhered to by all parties. Surely the people I represent here and their families in Sri Lanka deserve nothing less. The pain that many of them have already endured is enough. We must in their names and in their memory seize the opportunity to work together to bring all parties to the negotiating table. Apathy about the conflict is simply not an option. Working together towards an orderly coexistence which brings about peace and prosperity in Sri Lanka is the only option. This is the call from peace-loving Tamils and Sinhalese. It is the call from many national and international observers, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Red Cross. It is the call from my constituents and it is the call I repeat in this parliament today. If we are to emerge from the blindness and the darkness that so concerned Mahatma Gandhi, it is a call we must all embrace today.

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