{"id":66258,"date":"2017-05-19T16:57:29","date_gmt":"2017-05-19T23:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=66258"},"modified":"2017-05-19T16:57:58","modified_gmt":"2017-05-19T23:57:58","slug":"an-open-letter-to-the-sri-lanka-high-commission-in-canada-regarding-statements-in-canadian-media-that-are-highly-damaging-to-sri-lankas-interests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2017\/05\/19\/an-open-letter-to-the-sri-lanka-high-commission-in-canada-regarding-statements-in-canadian-media-that-are-highly-damaging-to-sri-lankas-interests\/","title":{"rendered":"An open letter to the Sri Lanka High Commission in Canada\u00a0 regarding Statements in Canadian media that are highly damaging to Sri Lanka\u2019s interests."},"content":{"rendered":"

Chandre Dharmawardana, Ottawa, Canada.<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

The following letter was sent to the Sri Lankan High Commission in Ottawa recently when a CBC broadcast\u00a0 stated\u00a0 the following about refugees sent back to Sri Lanka. This is about\u00a0 Sri Lankan refugees in Hong Kong who had sheltered\u00a0 the Wiki-Leaks journalist Snowden.<\/p>\n

There’s good reason to believe that they will be arrested on sight. They will be detained, tortured and most likely killed. \u2026\u201d.<\/p>\n

It is indeed true that many pro-LTTE NGOs as well as organizations like Human-Rights Watch have claimed that ethnic-Tamil Sri Lankans who are refugee claimants when sent back to Sri Lanka face arrest and torture, but here the claim is extended to refugees who are ethnic-Sinhalese Sri Lankans. At a time when the government is claiming GSP-plus status in Europe with its presumably improved human rights record, this type of statement, if false, needs refutation. If this is true, then the human-rights situation in Sri Lanka has not improved one iota.<\/p>\n

The Sri Lankan High Commission has replied to this letter stating that it is awaiting instructions from Colombo. Hence we make this letter public in the hope that it would influence the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry officials and also influence the Prime Minster himself to review the human-rights situation with serious concern.<\/p>\n

In effect, please note\u00a0 that this letter should not be regarded as a critique levelled at the Sri Lankan High Commission in Ottawa \u00a0par se, but a wake up call to the Foreign Ministry and the Government in its general failure to meet this type statements against Sri Lanka that occur all too frequently in Western media.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Ambassadors and High Commissioners are supposed to be men and women who have had much experience and training in their diplomatic careers, and should be given the appropriate authority to make statements in regard to such matters without undue delay, and when the matter has caught public opinion, rather than their having to wait for Colombo to react.<\/p>\n

The letter to the High Commission is reproduced below:<\/p>\n

The High Commissioner for\u00a0 Sri Lanka In Canada\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 15-May-2017<\/p>\n

Ottawa<\/p>\n

Canada<\/p>\n

Your Excellency,<\/p>\n

Highly inaccurate and damaging remarking against\u00a0 Sri Lanka uttered by<\/strong> Montreal<\/strong> lawyer Seguin on “As it Happens”, Monday 15th,\u00a0 2017.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I wish to draw your attention to the highly defamatory remarks against Sri Lanka made by the Montreal lawyer Mr. Seguin on the CBC program “As it happens” at around 7:15 pm, 15 May 2015.\u00a0 Mr. Seguin, representing some Sri Lankans in Hong Kong who had been denied refugee status there, alleged that the Sri Lankan government will in all likelihood murder these individuals if returned to Sri Lanka. In listening to the radio program I got the impression that the lawyer also alleged that the Sri Lankan government had even deployed extra-judicial means to harm these people even while they are in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n

These refugees had provided lodgings and cover to Mr. Snowden and they are being sought by the US, and not by Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has every reason to be happy with\u00a0 Wiki leaks as they have revealed the true situation contradicting some of the unfounded allegations that have been levelled against Sri Lanka by some organizations who are unhappy about its victory over terrorism.<\/p>\n

The only reason why the refugees should not be sent\u00a0back to Sri Lanka is because\u00a0 Sri Lanka might hand them over to the US,\u00a0 unable to withstand US pressure. Instead\u00a0of stating that danger, Mr. Seguin made what most Sri Lankans believe to be false, unsubstantiated allegations against Sri Lanka itself; these are immensely detrimental to Sri Lanka’s reputation. This is of course not the first case that would-be refugees to Western countries\u00a0and their lawyers have made such false claims against Sri Lanka. I am aware that High\u00a0Commissioners and Consul Generals had intervened and filed their objections when this sort of thing happened in the past. This is a high-profile case and it is essential that this case be taken up. In fact, this is entirely in line with the government\u2019s effort to secure GSP-plus in Europe on the basis of the improved human-rights record of the country. Hence one should not allow lawyers trying to gain an advantage to their clients to sully Sri Lanka\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n

Hence I invite you, Sir, as the accredited\u00a0representative of Sri Lanka in Canada, to take it up with Mr. Seguin, the CBC, and the program “As it happens” and ask for air time to clarify matters. But of course you may have already done so and I hope you would let the community of Sri Lankans and ex-Sri Lankans residing in Canada know about it.<\/p>\n

Mr. Seguin has every right to advance the circumstances of his clients, but surely not\u00a0by vilifying other\u00a0innocent parties. I think most Sri Lankans also feel that everything must\u00a0 be done in favour of these valiant people who came to the help of Mr. Snowden. But the Threat on the refugees is from the US and its agents, and the possibility of the refugees being handed over to the US.\u00a0 That is what Mr. Seguin should have expressed.<\/p>\n

Yours sincerely<\/p>\n

Chandre Dharmawardana<\/p>\n

57 Birch Avenue,<\/p>\n

Ottawa, Canada. K1K 3G5<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/radio\/asithappens\/as-it-happens-monday-edition-1.4115469\/may-15-2017-episode-transcript-1.4118345#segment2<\/p>\n

SNOWDEN REFUGEES<\/h4>\n

Guest: Marc-Andre Seguin<\/p>\n

JD:<\/strong>\u00a0They helped Edward Snowden find shelter. And now, seven refugees in Hong Kong could lose their shelter. The Hong Kong government has formally rejected the asylum claims of the three families who assisted Mr. Snowden in 2013, when he was on the run. The families are from the Philippines and Sri Lanka and their identities came to light last year when the Oliver Stone directed a biopic Snowden\u201d was released. Now, a group of lawyers in Montreal is urging the Canadian government to accept them as refugees in Canada. Marc-Andre Seguin is one of the lawyers representing the refugee families. We reached him in Hong Kong earlier today.<\/p>\n

CO:<\/strong>\u00a0Mr. Seguin, why has the Hong Kong government rejected the asylum claims of these three families?<\/p>\n

MARC-ANDRE SEGUIN:<\/strong>\u00a0Well, from the get go the odds of having an asylum claim successfully adjudicated in Hong Kong or extremely low. Historically Hong Kong has had a 0.36 per cent acceptance rate since 1992. Now more precisely, our clients have been specifically targeted by the Hong Kong authorities even though they entered Hong Kong years apart from one another and filed claims that were different in nature as well. Their claims were rejected on the exact same day. This is not something that is normal. This does not happen. And we believe that that is for political reasons first and foremost.<\/p>\n

CO:<\/strong>\u00a0Are the political reasons because they gave shelter to Edward Snowden?<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong>\u00a0That\u2019s certainly one of the reasons. Their profile ever since it has become known in the general public since last September is that they provided shelter to Mr. Snowden when he was in Hong Kong. They’ve been at the center of a significant media attention and have been thrust onto the world stage. Because of that they present a security interest in Hong Kong. They’ve been interrogated by the police ever since their assistance to Mr. Snowden has been known. Despite the fact that that assistance was lawful at all times because Mr. Snowden was not a fugitive in Hong Kong he was lawfully on Hong Kong territory and there was no mandate for his arrest. But despite that, they’ve been specifically targeted and interrogated without any regard to the basis of their original claims for why they came to Hong Kong in the first place. We’re talking about people who have been in Hong Kong in some cases as far back as the early 2000s. So the Snowden factor has certainly been important. What’s also important is that they have essentially become the very public illustration of Hong Kong’s very poor treatment of asylum seekers in violation of international law. And for this have become an embarrassment for Hong Kong must be discarded no matter the consequences.<\/p>\n

CO:<\/strong>\u00a0Last September, we spoke with Robert Tibbo, who is a lawyer you’re working with. He also represents Mr. Snowden. He was looking for a way to help Mr. Snowden as he made his way out of the United States. And Mr. Tibbo is the one who set up this plan to have the refugees in Hong Kong offer Mr. Snowden a place to hide.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong>\u00a0To understand the context of this you have to understand that the asylum-seeking community in Hong Kong is a very special group. And one of the most ostracized segments of the Hong Kong population. And when they first saw Mr. Snowden they saw him as one of their own. And their act of compassion was one of solidarity towards a fellow asylum seeker. And to this day they have not regretted it. The one thing that they could not predict was that the role that they played would be depicted in a major Hollywood production. Ever since 2013, and up until September of 2016, nobody knew about this specific chapter of Mr. Snowden\u2019s stay in Hong Kong. And our clients certainly did not disclose that.<\/p>\n

CO:<\/strong>\u00a0But at the same time, these people were willing to give him shelter. And our understanding when we’ve done this story in the past is that they didn’t know who Mr. Snowden was and they certainly didn’t know what kind of heat it might bring on them. Do you think that they should have been better informed by any of the lawyers trying to help Mr. Snowden that they might be putting themselves in jeopardy?<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong>\u00a0Well, in all fairness no one at the time had an idea of what type of heat might come of this. This was presented in the documentary Citizenfour\u201d, but also in Oliver Stone’s production. What happened, at the end of the day, after Mr. Snowden made these revelations to Laura Poitras and Glenn Greenwald is they went back to sleep. They didn’t go into hiding. So if they couldn’t have a full understanding of what would happen next how could our clients know without even having any further information than even the principal protagonists?<\/p>\n

CO:<\/strong>\u00a0But do you think that more should have been done to protect them from their identities coming out as they have? From becoming these public figures who are now probably going to be deported and split up with their children, but became recognizable on the streets of Hong Kong. Do you think that somebody should have done more to protect them?<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong>\u00a0Well, a lot was done to protect them. It’s important to remember our clients and their legal representatives never sought this type of attention and for three years, our clients were very successful in keeping a low profile.<\/p>\n

CO:<\/strong>\u00a0So now what we are faced with is that these people \u2014 seven of them \u2014 possibly to be deported back to. One is to the Philippines, others to Sri Lanka and they may even be split from their children. So what can you possibly do at this point to get them someplace safe?<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong>\u00a0There is the Hong Kong work that Mr. Tibbo is doing and that that’s to appeal the decisions. So what we’ve done was file refugee petitions to Canada for all three families. We received confirmation that the petitions that we filed have been transferred to the Canadian visa office here at the Canadian consulate in Hong Kong. Now, we simply hope that they’ll look at the fact that our clients were rejected, that they could be subject to deportation and that they’ll understand also that because of these rejections our clients can now be arrested by immigration authorities, detained and be separated from their children while their appeal is processed.<\/p>\n

CO:<\/strong>\u00a0And you’re also playing beat the clock aren’t you? You only have a few weeks to make this appeal. What happens if your clients are deported back to the Philippines or to Sri Lanka?<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong>\u00a0There’s good reason to believe that they will be arrested on sight. They will be detained, tortured and most likely killed. Because of their very public profiles, it will be impossible for them to return to their home countries unnoticed. Very clearly local authorities over there will be expecting them and will have a security interest. Si Lanka\u2019s Criminal Investigation Department has dispatched officers on Hong Kong territory to try and locate and possibly harm our client right here extra judicially. And the CID has also been to the houses of our client\u2019s family members back in Sri Lanka. So there’s a lot of reason for concern.<\/p>\n

CO:<\/strong>\u00a0All right. We will leave it there. We will follow this story. Mr. Seguin, I appreciate speaking with you. Thank you.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong>\u00a0Thank you very much for your time.<\/p>\n

JD:<\/strong>\u00a0Marc-Andre Seguin is a Montreal-based lawyer. Today though, we reached Mr. Seguin in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chandre Dharmawardana, Ottawa, Canada. The following letter was sent to the Sri Lankan High Commission in Ottawa recently when a CBC broadcast\u00a0 stated\u00a0 the following about refugees sent back to Sri Lanka. This is about\u00a0 Sri Lankan refugees in Hong Kong who had sheltered\u00a0 the Wiki-Leaks journalist Snowden. There’s good reason to believe that they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chandre-dharmawardana"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66258\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}