Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.
Canadian navy boards ship carrying Tamil migrants
Thursday, August 12, 2010 | 7:05 PM
CTV
LINK The Canadian navy has boarded a cargo ship off the coast of B.C. carrying 490 Tamil migrants, "including suspected human smugglers and terrorists," according to Public Safety Minister Vic Toews.He said the government intends to prosecute any criminals that may be travelling on board.
One of the navy vessels that met the migrant ship was HMCS Winnipeg -- the same vessel that searched for pirates off the coast of Somalia this year.
"The Winnipeg attempted to hail the Sun Sea several times, and after establishing communications the vessel declared that it had refugees on board," Toews said.
Meanwhile, tents and portable toilets have been set up at CFB Esquimalt in Victoria in advance of the arrival of the migrants. They have been out at sea for months aboard a ship called the MV Sun Sea that left Thailand in May.
The condition of the people on board the ship is unknown. There are unconfirmed reports that at least one person has died, and many are suffering from tuberculosis.
Five RCMP vessels were deployed to meet the cargo ship. The ships carried armed men, though the RCMP would not provide details on their activities.
CTV's Janet Dirks reported that the main hospital in the area of the military base, Victoria General, "has set up at least 75 beds and they've called on extra emergency personnel."
Whatever ailments the migrants may have, Dirks said local health authorities "are ready to treat them."
"After they are treated, they will then go to two correction facilities on the Lower Mainland -- that's outside of Vancouver, in Maple Ridge," Dirks said.
"They could be there for months. People expect that they'll be filling out refugee forms, that's the claim they want to make -- to be refugees and to live in Canada."
Support and security concerns
Some reports and pundits have warned that the MV Sun Sea may be carrying members of the Tamil Tigers -- the banned terrorist organization whose military wing was defeated by the Sri Lankan army last year.
Chitranganee Wagiswara, Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to Canada, said her government believes the cargo ship is tied to the Tamil Tigers -- a group she says profits greatly from human smuggling.
"This is a human smuggling exercise and Canada should look at it from that point of view," Wagiswara told CTV News Channel from Ottawa on Thursday afternoon.
Supporters say the migrants should not be prejudged.
"There has been a lot of innuendo about people being on there that are a threat to Canadian security," Manjula Selvarajah, a spokesperson for the Canadian Tamil Congress, said in an interview with The Canadian Press on Wednesday.
"However, one of the things we have to be careful about is some of the things that we're hearing comes from sources that are linked to the Sri Lankan government, who have a poor track record when it comes to human rights, accountability, transparency."
The expected arrival of the MV Sun Sea will mark the second time a boat carrying Tamil migrants has landed in B.C.
Prior arrivals
Last October, the Ocean Lady brought 76 Tamil migrants to Canada from Sri Lanka.
One passenger on the Ocean Lady told The Canadian Press that he took the risk to come to Canada to flee threats against his life after the end of Sri Lanka's long and bloody civil war. He agreed to pay $45,000 for the chance to leave.
"I was very scared, I felt like I had to hold my life in my own hand," the unidentified passenger told The Canadian Press through a translator.
That ship was supposed to head for Australia, but abruptly changed course and sailed to Canada.
Seeing the news reports of the second ship headed to Canadian soil, the man said he has a sense of what they're going through.
"It's safe for me to say that I know what they're feeling, what they're going through, because I've been through it," he said.
"I think they are civilians just like me coming on the boat and looking for a better opportunity."
Queen's University law professor Sharryn Aiken said the public should look to the Ocean Lady as an example of how smoothly the process will go.
"Seventy-six passengers: All of them after very extensive screening, have been released. They are all awaiting refugee hearings and there has been no substantiated evidence brought forward to date that any of them pose various security risks to Canada," Aiken told CTV News Channel on Thursday afternoon.
"That's not to say that none will ever emerge, and it may be that some of them have links to the defeated Tamil terrorist organization in Sri Lanka, and if they do, they'll be dealt with according to legal procedures here in Canada."
With files from The Canadian Press
