On June 12, 80 people attended a meeting in support of two Tamil activists who were recently arrested for allegedly sending tsunami relief funds to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The meeting, organised by Civil Rights Defence, also addressed broader issues around the right to free speech and political association.
Pratheepan Balasubramaniam from the Australian-Tamil Rights Advocacy Council gave a background to the Tamil struggle. He explained that Sri Lanka's "anti-terror laws" amounted to a "licence to kill without sanction". He also pointed out that the Tamil struggle "may not be a perfect struggle, but neither was the Irish or [Nelson] Mandela's".
Lawyer Rob Stary also addressed the meeting, speaking about the difficulties of mounting a defence against charges brought under "anti-terror" legislation. Azlan McLennan from the Melbourne Palestine Solidarity Network discussed the proscription of national liberation organisations such as Hamas and Hezbollah. Former Victorian Trades Hall secretary Leigh Hubbard talked about the need for solidarity with national liberation struggles and with the trade union movement. Vicki Sentas from the Federation of Community Legal Centres also spoke.