Lankan refugee ship to land in Vancouver, Canada in mid-August
August 5, 2010 07:22 am
Undated photo of the Harin Panich 19, now renamed MV Sun Sea, a suspected migrant smuggling vessel last seen in the Gulf of Thailand. South Asian media are reporting it is on its way to Canada with 200 migrants on board.
The
David Poopalapillai, a spokesman for Canadian Tamils, dismissed what he
called mere allegations that the asylum seekers included members of the
separatist Tamil Tigers, outlawed as terrorists by both
Interviewed by AFP, Poopalapillai expressed concern for the health and safety of the Sri Lankan passengers, most of them Tamils, who are packed into what he said is a “very small ship” that is not built for ocean voyages.
Matthew Chandler, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS),
told AFP: “We are aware of the vessel, and are monitoring its progress. Should
an emergency arise, the
But he added: “We do not know definitively how many passengers are currently aboard, nor can we confirm the nationality of the passengers.”
A DHS official told AFP on the condition of anonymity that the “ship is
expected to land in
He also said he could not confirm media reports that some of the ship’s passengers were members of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam, who were finally defeated last year by government troops in a 40-year civil war.
A Canadian Foreign Ministry official said
Poopalapillai, the spokesman for the Canadian Tamil Congress, said the “information
that we have from the Canadian government officials, from the other media
sources is, clearly they think the ship is very close to
He said: “We were told that they are men, women and children on board and
they are all from
He accused the Sri Lankan government of regularly spreading allegations that
refugees aboard ships fleeing
None of the 76 Tamils who arrived in
“They were detained based on these allegations. Our government officials
went through case by case and they are free now,” he said, adding they were now
being considered for refugee status in
He complained the media focused on “criminality,” including trafficking in
persons, when it should focus on the human reasons for people fleeing
“Why are these people fleeing? Look at the root cause,” he said. “It’s is very terrible things, extremely hostile conditions in their home country.”
D. M. Jayaratne, Sri Lanka’s prime minister, has urged Western nations to crack down on Tamils living abroad who he said hope to revive the armed struggle that cost the lives of up to 100,000 people between 1972 and May last year.
AFP