More Tamil Ships May Set Sail for Canada, Says Expert

As a cargo ship with 200 Tamils on board approaches British Columbia’s coastline, two other shiploads of would-be asylum seekers are planning to conduct a similar voyage, a terrorism expert says.


Rohan Gunaratna, head of a research center in Singapore and an expert on Sri Lanka’s Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, says the potential asylum seekers are waiting to see what kind of reception those aboard the MV Sun Sea receive before deciding whether they, too, will set sail for Canada.

“[Because of] Canada’s response to Ocean Lady last year, the Tamil Tigers decided to dispatch Sun Sea to Canada, and depending on Canadian response to this vessel, the two other ships will arrive,” Gunaratna told the Globe and Mail newspaper.

The Ocean Lady, a migrant ship with 76 Tamil asylum seekers on board, arrived on Canada’s west coast last October. Intercepted by the Emergency Response Team of the RCMP, Canada's national police, with support from the Canadian forces and Canada Border Services Agency, the rusty freighter was boarded and detained at Ogden Point in Victoria, British Columbia.

The vessel’s passengers, all of whom claimed refugee status, were taken to a correctional facility in Vancouver for processing, detained for three months and then released, despite information that at least 25 were connected to the Tamil Tigers, a terrorist group outlawed in Canada.

Many of the migrants’ refugee applications are still pending. The process, which can cost the government up to $48,680 per applicant, could take several years.

A Sri Lankan newspaper, the Sunday Observer, reports that the MV Sun Sea, a 194-foot Thai registered cargo ship, is carrying high-ranking members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The freighter, formerly Harin Panich 19, was originally bound for Australia before changing en route to head for Canada.

Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay verified last week that Canada, along with the U.S. Coast Guard and Homeland Security, has been monitoring the ship’s advance for a while.

The Canadian navy, although having power in international waters, has refrained from intercepting the ship on the grounds that the vessel has yet to appear as a threat to national security.

Estimated arrival on Canada's western coast is sometime this week, MacKay said preparations are underway to receive the ship, including providing medical attention for the sick on board.

“It's a deadly journey,” David Poopalapillai, national spokesman for the Canadian Tamil Congress, told the Globe and Mail.

“We understand why they are coming at the same time we understand there are human smugglers that are making a fortune out of people’s misery. That should be stopped too.”

The Department of Foreign Affairs told the Montreal Gazette that anybody caught smuggling humans would not escape the law.

“Those responsible for migrant smuggling will be pursued, investigated and prosecuted to the full extent of Canadian law and in accordance with the provisions of international conventions and protocols,” spokeswoman Ambra Dickie said.
Last May the Sri Lankan army defeated the Tamil rebellion, bringing an end to the 26-year bloody civil war. Still, peace has not been achieved, and many Tamil migrants are setting out on treacherous ocean voyages in order to escape persecution in their own country.
Canadian Tamil advocacy groups are pressuring Canada to see their flight as a legitimate humanitarian effort. However, the Sri Lankan government has warned that the MV Sun Sea is involved in migrant smuggling, claiming also that the ship is being captained by a senior member of the LTTE.
Concerns that Tamil asylum seekers are not only a security threat but taking advantage of Canada’s refugee system has put the government in the position of upholding the country’s image as a safe haven for persecuted minorities while combating the allegation Canada’s door is open to terrorists.
Katherine Krampol is a Vancouver-based writer and blogger.