On 27^th October Bruce Haigh spoke to the NSW Branch on Sri Lanka, on our failure of policy towards the conflict in Sri Lanka and on our moral failure over refugees, both from Sri Lanka and across the entire region.

Bruce Haigh was an Australian diplomat who played a significant role throughout many world events and crises. He was part of the Australian embassy that initiated contact with the South African resistance movement in the 1970’s and became friends with Steve Biko,  Dr Mamphela Ramphele and Donald Woods, helping the latter escape the country.

Bruce’s resume also includes working for Australian embassies in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, becoming friends with Benazir Bhutto, leading the Indonesian section at the Department of Foreign Affairs, reporting on the war in Afghanistan during Soviet occupation, and being the first secretary at the Australian High Commission at Colombo, Sri Lanka. More recently, Bruce played a core role in establishing the Ifa Lethu Foundation in South Africa and is a current patron of the Sri Lankan Human Rights Project, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney.

Bruce argued that the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and their political masters have over the past forty years backed might over right, with the notable exception of South Africa and in that case they were in good company – there was no risk.  He went on to claim that when they should have exercised judgement and moral courage in opposing repression they have failed, with a long record of siding with the government in Sri Lanka. Our failure to help Tamils within Sri Lanka was dominated by our domestic concerns over “boat people”. He claimed that in the case of Sri Lanka it was the navy who often were the people smugglers.

Bruce argued that DFAT was complicit in just going along with government policy, though he did concede that any alternative approach would require courage, given that appointments and promotion were based on supporting the decisions of Government. He drew analogies with situations that have arisen in East Timor and West Papua. He added that Australian foreign policy needs to occupy a new space particularly if talk of wishing to join the UN Human Rights Council and make a bid for the Security Council are to be taken seriously.

Report by Brian Everingham