Asylum seekers may have been heading for Canada - Globe and Mail
The Canadian government suspects the ship carrying 87 Tamil asylum
seekers was bound for Canada until it was apprehended by Indonesian
authorities.
"I can't talk about any details in intelligence reports. There are
indications that it may have been destined for Canada," the Globe and
Mail reported quoting the Canadian Minister of Immigration Jason Kenney.
"... Our intelligence and police agencies are working very hard. They
are getting great co-operation from the transit countries, as we've seen
this week," the minister said.
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said there was no guarantee the
Sri Lankans were actually refugees and they were not planning to go to
New Zealand.
"In terms of the actual plans that they had it doesn't appear they
weren't actually intending to come here in the first place," New Zealand
Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman told the New Zealand Herald. "If
you look at where these boats have gone in the past they've gone to a
range of destinations. Canada's pretty popular as is Australia."
The MV Alicia was initially reported to have been bound for New
Zealand, or possibly Australia, before it was stopped in Indonesian
waters last weekend. While the ship's ultimate destination remains
something of a mystery, the Sydney Morning Herald has reported that
"charts indicating the boat was prepared to travel to Canada" may have
been found aboard the vessel. During a 12-month period between 2009 and
2010, nearly 600 Tamil migrants turned up on the coast of British
Columbia in two nautical voyages. Some passengers are said to have
indebted themselves to the tune of more than $40,000 apiece.
The influx of refugee claimants then became a political issue, their
claims highlighting the paralysis of Canada's legal systems. Nearly two
years after the first ship arrived, no asylum bids have been heard by
federal tribunals. While four alleged crewmembers of one ship were
recently charged with human smuggling offences, it took police nearly
two years to lay charges. "These are complex investigations because
these syndicates are criminal gangs who use intimidation and violence
against witnesses," Minister Kenney said. He added that among all
potential smuggling destinations, "Canada is the softest target with the
strongest pull factors."
For much of the past year, Canadian agents have been working in Asia
seeking to thwart smuggling rings before boats are boarded. In Ottawa,
the Conservative government continues to flog its proposed legislation
to penalize those involved in human-smuggling networks.
The passengers aboard the MV Alicia are said to have lived in
Malaysia for two years prior to setting sail. Most of the migrants
refused to leave the ship when it was brought ashore by Indonesian
authorities.
Six women and five children were aboard. According to a BBC report,
the passengers had a month's worth of provisions with them. They
described themselves as Tamils who were trapped in the crossfire during
the final stages of the Sri Lankan conflict, and hired the ship "through
financial help from Diaspora organizations." The Canadian Immigration
Minister said smuggling networks are driven by financial motives, not by
humanitarian considerations. Pointing out that the United Nations has
said that Sri Lanka is no longer necessarily unsafe for migrants to
return to and tens of thousands of Sri Lankans have recently returned
home, the minister added there are countries closer to Sri Lanka to
which bona fide refugee claimants could go. "Paying a criminal gang
$50,000 to get in a leaky boat to cross the Pacific Ocean is the wrong
way" to get to Canada, he said. (Courtesy Priu.lk) |