Comment: The article by Whitehall1 provoked a barrage of 15 emails to the Medical Journal of Australia that either criticised the Journal for publishing such an article or questioned Whitehall’s agenda and some details of the article. In short, it was suggested that the article was nothing but a propaganda tool for Tamil terrorists or a blatant attempt to romanticise “the terrorists”. Others were perturbed that the MJA saw fit to publish such a confronting article. However, these criticisms were balanced by another 40 emails congratulating the Journal for having the courage to expose what is occurring in Sri Lanka.

The Journal strongly stands by its decision to publish Whitehall’s article, as it gives an Australian insight into the turmoil and suffering affecting people caught up in an internal conflict that is foreign to our stable and largely harmonious society.