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VANCOUVER — Up to 500 Tamil refugees are expected to arrive in British Columbia waters within the next few days. And an international expert fears more may be on the way.
Canadian Tamil Congress spokeswoman Manjula Selvarajah said those on board the MV Sun Sea are fleeing Sri Lanka after the end of a war of independence between the Tamil Tigers army and the Sri Lankan government.
The Tamil Tigers are considered a terrorist organization by Canada and its members are banned from entering the country.
“We know from authorities there are possibly 200 people, including women and children, onboard. We’re preparing for them this weekend,” Ms. Selvarajah said.
Rohan Gunaratna, who heads the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism in Singapore, said there were Tamil Tiger leaders among the group that arrived on the Ocean Lady and even more onboard the MV Sun Sea.
“The ship carries not just refugees, but is staffed by a Tamil Tiger crew,” said Mr. Gunaratna, who has studied the Tamil Tigers and their 25-year war, since 1984. The Tamils lost their fight for an independent homeland in Sri Lanka’s north in May 2009.
“Canadian laws are exceptionally weak when it comes to terrorism. Canada’s response to the Ocean Lady determined the MVSun Sea’s voyage because it was a weak response,” said Mr. Gunaratna, adding sources have told him there are two more ships carrying a mix of Tamil Tigers and refugees coming to B.C.
The ship will likely be intercepted by the Canada Border Services Agency and escorted to Canadian Forces Base Comox; which is what happened last October when 76 Tamil asylum-seekers arrived in B.C. waters onboard the Ocean Lady.
Ms. Selvarajah said all 76 from the first landing have been released, pending the refugee claim process, and most are living in Toronto.
On Tuesday, British Columbia officials confirmed the newest refugees will be housed in two provincial jails in a Vancouver suburb.
Officials at the Fraser Regional Correction Centre for men and the Alouette Correctional Centre for Women have told the district of Maple Ridge that as many as 500 refugees on the cargo ship heading for B.C. will be put up in the two jails.
“They’ll be housed there while they’re processed,” said John Leeburn, a spokesman for the district of Maple Ridge.
Mr. Leeburn said the 76 Tamil men who landed in B.C. as refugees last October stayed at the men’s jail. They eventually were released and their claims to remain in Canada as refugees are being heard.
“We’re not aware of any impact of the last 76 refugees on the immediate area,” he said.
Gunaratna labelled the Tamil Tigers “human smugglers,” claiming they are making money bringing the refugees to Canada in a bid to re-form the group from a Canadian base.
The MV Sun Sea set sail from Thailand in May and has since been tracked by various authorities.
In July, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed it had been tracking the vessel as it made its way up the West Coast.
On Sunday, the Canadian government confirmed it is aware of the vessel off the U.S. northwest coast and was making preparations for its arrival in Canadian waters.
Selvarajah said the Tamil congress will arrange legal aid and other support for the arrivals.
B.C. will receive “full compensation” from the federal government for housing the refugee claimants, provincial officials said on Tuesday.
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