VOA标准英语2010-Australia's Tamils Voice Visa Suspension

Australian Customs officers lower their life boat with Sri Lankan refugees on board as the refugees are transported from Oceanic Viking, an Australian Customs Service patrol ship, to an Australian-funded detention¹ center in Tanjung Pinang, off the coast of Kijang, on the Indonesian Island of Bintan (file photo)

Australia Faces Backlash Over Freeze on Accepting Refugees from Sri Lanka, Afghanistan
Australia Moves Asylum² Seekers to Troubled Detention Center
Representatives of the Australian Tamil community have held talks with senior Australian officials to discuss the recent freezing of asylum requests from Sri Lanka.  Canberra has said it will not process applications for three months while it reviews the security situation in Sri Lanka, a move that has angered activists⁴.

 

Representatives from several Tamil community groups were invited to Canberra for talks with officials from Australia's immigration and foreign affairs departments.

A range of issues was discussed, including Australian aid to Sri Lanka.  They also considered how the Tamil diaspora can support reconciliation⁵ and lasting⁶ peace in their troubled homeland, where decades of civil war have only recently come to an end.

But the main point of discussion was Canberra's decision to freeze for three months the processing of asylum applications from Sri Lanka.

Australia says the move is the result of improved security in Sri Lanka.

But Tamil activist³ Sara Nathan, who attended the meeting in Canberra, says community representatives made it clear they opposed Australia's decision.

"Almost everyone commented that they were not happy with the visa suspensions because there is lots of inconsistencies," said Nathan. "For instance, the United Nations High Commissioner⁷ for Refugees has not changed its guidelines on Sri Lanka.  It is still risky⁸ in Sri Lanka.  There are 88,000 Tamils still held in internment⁹ camps."   

Australia has also suspended the processing of asylum claims from Afghanistan for six months, again insisting that the situation there was becoming less hazardous¹⁰.

Australia reopened mainland immigration detention facilities following a surge in boats ferrying asylum seekers, including many Sri Lankans and Afghans.

A purpose-built camp on Christmas Island, a remote Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, is over-capacity.

Conservative opponents of Australia's left-of-center government say what it calls "soft" immigration policies have failed to deter¹¹ boat people.  Government ministers have strongly rejected that point of view.

The vast majority of people seeking asylum in Australia arrive by air, but community groups worry that the debate about illegal immigration will become more uncompromising as an election due later this year draws closer.

About 13,000 refugees are allowed to resettle in Australia each year as part of official international humanitarian¹² schemes.

 

1 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

2 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

3 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

4 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

6 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

7 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

8 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

9 internment   

n.拘留

参考例句：

• Certainly the recent attacks against the internment camps are evidence enough. 很明显，最近营地遭受到的攻击就是一个足好的证明。 来自互联网
• The chapters on the internment are Both readaBle and well researched. 这些关于拘留的章节不仅具可读性而且研究得很透彻。 来自互联网

10 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

11 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

12 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。