{"id":65070,"date":"2012-12-16T15:15:34","date_gmt":"2012-12-16T15:15:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=65070"},"modified":"2012-12-19T16:55:21","modified_gmt":"2012-12-19T16:55:21","slug":"dr-brian-senewiratne-deported-from-singapore-after-locked-in-a-small-cell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/dr-brian-senewiratne-deported-from-singapore-after-locked-in-a-small-cell\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr Brian Senewiratne Deported From Singapore After Locked In A Small Cell"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Colombo Telegraph<\/a><\/span> –<\/strong><\/p>\n

“An 81-year-old Brisbane doctor was locked in a small cell without food, water or toilet access for more than five hours yesterday before being deported back to Australia from Singapore.\u00a0Dr Brian Senewiratne<\/a><\/span>, a Sri Lankan-born Australian who has been a long-time critic of the Sri Lankan Government over its treatment of Tamils, was on his way to Malaysia and Indonesia to speak at forums on the Tamil refugee<\/a><\/span> issue.” says\u00a0Tamil Refugee Council.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Dr. Brian Senewiratne<\/p><\/div>\n

He said yesterday he was locked up during his Singapore airport stop-over after being told he was not permitted to\u00a0enter Malaysia, or travel to Indonesia.\u00a0\u201cThey told me I was being deported straight back to Australia under a clause on an immigration card that said \u00a0\u2018ineligible for the issue of a pass under current immigration policies\u2019,\u201d he said.Dr Senewiratne said that when he asked what was the current immigration policy that would prevent him from travelling, the security officer said it wasn\u2019t for him to say.\u00a0\u201cI arrived in Singapore at 5a.m. on Friday and was put in a 10 feet square \u2018box\u2019 for five and a half hours with asylum \u00a0seekers and refugees. There was no food, no water and no toilet. At 81 it was no walk in the park,\u201d said Dr Senewiratne. \u201cThen an armed policeman, with live bullets in his revolver, took me to a waiting plane. My passport was given to the captain to be locked up in a security safe during the flight and released to security staff in Brisbane. I arrived back in Brisbane at 9pm last night.He said he was going to ask his local MP in Brisbane, Kevin Rudd, to take action on his behalf. He will also be writing to Foreign Affairs Minister, Bob Carr. \u201cIt is just outrageous, \u201c he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf an Australian citizen is barred from talking to people in Malaysia and Indonesia about the refugee crisis, which involves them, then we are living in a very bad world. And if the Australian Government doesn\u2019t do something then, as I said on the plane to the staff, an Australian passport isn\u2019t worth the paper it is written on. I would rather have a passport for Guatemala.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Senewiratne, who is Sinhalese but actively supports the Tamil cause, said he believed he was arrested in\u00a0Singapore because he was going to speak to an \u201cinvitation-only\u201d forum in Malaysia about the humanitarian crisis with refugees. \u201cMy speculation is that the Malaysian Government told the Rajapaksa<\/a><\/span> Government in Colombo about my trip and it asked Malaysia to tell Singapore to stop me. Or Malaysia instructed Singapore off its own bat,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Dr\u00a0Brian Senewiratne<\/a>‘s articles on Sri Lanka;<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Death Of A Newspaper \u2013 The Sunday Leader<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Brian Senewiratne: Deterioration Of Human Rights In Sri Lanka<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Psychiatric Disorder: An Analysis Of Gotabaya Rajapaksa<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Why Bishop Joseph And His Roman Catholic Clergy Have Been Targeted<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

An Open Letter To Sri Lankan Anglican Bishop, Shantha Francis, Kurunagala<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr.Brian Senewiratne\u2019s Public Lecture At Charles Darwin University<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Life Of A Sri Lankan Tamil Bishop In Danger<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Channel 4 Videos On Sri Lanka: Background Is Essential<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

UN Human Rights Council Meeting Another Farce<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Independence Day: A Day For Action, Not Mourning<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Critical Situation facing the Tamil People in Sri Lanka<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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