Tamils frustrated by detention: lawyer
Posted on August 21st, 2010
Asoka Weerasinghe Kings Gove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . Canada
21 August 2010
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The Editor (Letters)
THE OTTAWA CITIZEN
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Sir:
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Re: Tamil frustrated by detention: Lawyer,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Tamil-Canadian lawyer Luxmi Vasan who arrived as a refugee at Toronto’s airport in 1991 with her year-old son, says that she understands their frustrations.
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But here isƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the problem.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The Canadian government is being careful to go through the process of finding out who theseƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Tamil people are and it takes time, whether they are indeed genuine ‘convention refugees’, Tiger terrorists orƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ‘economic refugees’.
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But here is the litmus test on lawyer Luxmi Vasan. If she indeed came in as a convention refugee in 1991, and if her passport has stamps of entering Sri Lanka as a visitor on holidays since then to meet up with her relatives and friends, attend weddingsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ or replenishƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ a bit of her lostƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ tan ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ by sunning herself along Sri Lanka’s beautifulƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ beachesƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ then
she is indeed an “economic refugee” and sheƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ fibbed her wayƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ into Canada, perhaps saying that she wasƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ running away from persecution.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ That is indeed the rub, and that is why Canadian authorities are taking time to find who these 492 illegal Tamil migrantsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ who came on Sun Sea are.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ And thatƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ should take its course andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Canada should notƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ openƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the flood gates wily-nillyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ to let every Tamil Siva, Rajah and ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Rani enter the country just because they claim to be a refugee.
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In the past almost all Tamil ‘convention refugee’ claimant has hopped on a plane no soonerƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ he or sheƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ received the Canadian passport to visit Sri Lanka, the place they ran away because of alleged persecution.
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Asoka Weerasinghe