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Vol. 73/No. 45      November 23, 2009

 
76 Tamils are arrested
off coast of Canada
 
BY NED DMYTRYSHYN
AND STEVE PENNER  
VANCOUVER, British Columbia—A ship carrying 76 Tamil refugees fleeing the brutal internment of thousands in Sri Lanka in the aftermath of a civil war was seized by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) off the coast here October 17. The asylum seekers arrived on a rusted cargo ship with minimal supplies and facilities.

The 76 men, many of them in their early 20s, were seized and thrown into detention. Handcuffed and shackled in leg chains, they were brought before immigration officials nine days later. They pleaded for their release while their refugee claims are being heard, but only one was freed.

Since Sri Lanka won its independence from Britain in 1948, the Tamil language and religion have been relegated to second-class status. Following the defeat in May of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in a 25-year civil war, an estimated quarter of a million Tamils have been held in 40 internment camps. The government euphemistically calls them “welfare centers.”

The arrival of the refugees in Canada has sparked articles in the big-business media quoting Sri Lankan government officials and “terrorism experts” who claim many of the refugees are Tamil Tigers.

Canadian immigration minister Jason Kenney has warned he intends to play hardball with the 76 men and to deport them if they are terrorists. The government “won't allow Canada to become a place of refuge for terrorists, thugs, snakeheads, and other violent foreign criminals” said Alykhan Velshi, Kenney’s media spokesman.

So far only one of the men, 26-year-old Kartheepan Manickavasagar, has been charged with terrorism, but by Sri Lankan authorities. His lawyer, Hadayt Nazami, explained that such charges can't be taken seriously as "a lot of innocent Tamils are being persecuted by the government and accused of all kinds of things."

In a speech to "security experts," RCMP commissioner William Elliot claimed that because 250,000 Tamils live in Canada there is a danger that Tamil Tigers "might seek to hide in plain sight, and potentially launch terrorist activities."

Ottawa deported 12,732 people last year—a 50 percent increase over the past decade. The government has promised tougher immigration legislation that will make it more difficult for refugees to be accepted into Canada.
 
 
Related articles:
Tamil refugees demand asylum in Australia  
 
 
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