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Holland’s Ministry of Justice can send Tamils back

De Telegraaf, 14 March 1997

About 2000 Tamils who are staying in the Netherlands and who are not recognized as refugees, can be sent back to Sri Lanka by secretaryof state Schmitz of the ministry of justice. This was decided in a ruling by the chamber of law in The Hague, the highest court for alien affairs in our country.

Not only rejected Tamil asylum seekers can be sent back, the ruling also offers secretary of state Schmitz the possibility to revoke temporary residence permit from Tamils. There for the number of Tamils who will have to leave our country might be increases by several hundreds. at the moment more than 7000 Sri Lankans are living in the Netherlands, and more than 4000 of them are already having Dutch nationality.

The verdict of in the cases of three Tamils, who filed appeals at the high courts against their deportation, states that the situation in Sri Lanka is no longer of such a nature that the asylum seekers could not be sent back.

Welcome

As far as the government of Sri Lanka is concerned, the rejected Tamil asylum seekers are more than welcome to return to their country or origin as soon as possible. "we are glad that the highest aliens affairs judge in the Netherlands also recognize now, that we are a safe country again. Other European countries already recognized this,...much earlier," the temporary charge de affairs of Sri Lanka in The Hague , Mrs. P. Deen said.

Together with the refugee organization of the united nations UNHCR and with support of international help organization the government of Sri Lanka set up shelters and employment projects for returning refugees.

Lawyer Mr. C. J. Schoorl from Alkmaar who has been representing the interests of Tamil asylum seekers for many years, was shocked about the yesterday's verdict. The chamber of law unity disregards all his points of order. The verdict of the chamber of law unity stressed the incorrectness of certain accusation by the lawyer. According to him the official report on the situation in Sri Lanka by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was one-sided and incorrect due to economic and political interests. The stressed that one could not speak of any prejudices.

Tamils can be deported after rejection

De Volkskrant, 14 March 1997

From now on rejected Tamils can be sent back to Sri Lanka. This was the ruling of the Chamber of Law Unity, the highest court for alien affairs, on Thursday. Secretary of State Schmitz of the Ministry of Justice wants to start immediately to send back Tamils in small groups.

The Chamber of Law Unity ruled on three cases of Sri Lankan asylum seekers who filed a higher appeal. Their applications for the refugee status as well as temporary residence permits had been denied by Schmitz. In July last year, Schmitz had written to the Lower House that as far as she was concerned, all Tamils can be sent back to Sri Lanka.

The Chamber of Law Unity now ruled that "it was reasonable for Mrs. Schimitz to take the point of view that the general situation in Sri Lanka is no longer of such a nature that enforced deportation would have to be considered special hardness".

The verdict does not mean that it will be impossible for Tamils to get asylum in the Netherlands. Every individual case will be investigated separately. Only rejected asylum seekers will be sent back. It is assumed that they will not be in any personal danger.

Tamils deported quickly

NRC Handelsblad, 14 March 1997

Secretary of State Schmitz of the Ministry of Justice wants to start on short term to send rejected Tamil asylum seekers back to Sri Lanka. Not by hundreds at the same time, but in small groups and after through investigation of the individual cases. Mrs. Schmitz said this in a reaction to the verdict of the Chamber of Law Unity. The highest court for alien affairs has ruled yesterday in the cases of appeal of three Tamils that the Ministry of Justice can send rejected Tamil asylum seekers back to Sri Lanka.

19 March 1997 14:33:40

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