Asylum-seekers’ ordeal
Detentions and drownings spark new fears
AS 150 Tamil detainees in Kalutara prison in Sri Lanka began a protest fast in late January opposing prolonged detention without trial, the condition of 16 asylum-seekers on a month-old hunger strike in Britain against lengthy custody began to deteriorate.
Three hunger-strikers in Rochester prison in Kent were taken to hospital in early February for dehydration treatment. In Britain asylum-seekers can be held in prison for an unspecified period without being accused of a crime and without a right to challenge detention.
Prisons minister Ann Widdecombe insists that there are compelling grounds for detaining some 180 asylum-seekers, but the Home Office has refused to give written reasons. The Refugee Council’s Chief Executive Nick Hardwick says imprisonment of those seeking protection from persecution is inhuman and has called for judicial review of refugee detentions.
Detention of asylum-seekers is one of the deterrent methods used by Western nations. With around 240,000 refugee arrivals in Western Europe in 1996, including 10,000 Sri Lankans, governments are expected to push ahead with legislative and administrative restrictions. Under new regulations introduced in November 1996, those applying for asylum after entering Britain will lose their rights to social security. Germany is expected to follow suit.
In a bid to strengthen "Fortress Europe", the European Union has developed the concept of a "safe third country" to which refugees can be returned, and has adopted a restrictive definition of a "refugee" to deny asylum rights to those fleeing from non-government groups. Arrangements with countries of origin, similar to the 1994 agreement between Switzerland and Sri Lanka, for the return of rejected asylum-seekers are also on the cards. The European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRC) says that there are fewer asylum-seekers in recent years who reach the stage of receiving full refugee status.
Other refugee agencies say government curbs are forcing refugees fleeing persecution to take dangerous routes to reach safety. Concern is growing over the exploitation of refugees by unscrupulous agents who deal in the million-dollar human cargo business.
A boat attempting to land 82 refugees on Lampedusa Island, south of Sicily was intercepted by Italian police on 18 January. The remote Italian island has become a favoured transit point in the mediterranean for entry into southern Europe. Six Tamil refugees drowned near Lampedusa in April last year. Currently Italy is a key entry point into Europe.
Reports say over 154 refugees in a boat, including 78 Sri Lankans were saved by Italian rescue services on 24 January from a sinking ship south of Italy. Ninety two Sri Lankans were among over 280 refugees from the Indian sub-continent believed drowned on Christmas day when they were forced at gun-point by the ship’s crew to board a crammed boat between Malta and Sicily.
Most of the refugees had flown to Cairo and boarded the ship in Alexandria. The Cairo connection is one of several points such as Moscow, Kiev, Nairobi and Singapore used for transit. Each Sri Lankan had paid Rs 720,000 ($8,000) to an agent for the journey to Europe. Fifty one Sri Lankans saved from the tragedy were arrested by Greek police who have issued a warrant for mass murder against the ship’s Greek and Maltese crew.
The refugees were deported to Sri Lanka from Greece in late January and on arrival in Colombo were taken into custody. Senior Police Superintendent Mithra Siriwardene assured that they would be released after enquiries when parents and relatives expressed fears. Police say a new investigation to track down human cargo agents in Sri Lanka has been launched.
There is concern over return of rejected asylum-seekers from Europe, while the war continues in Sri Lanka, without proper safeguards or monitoring after return. Five Sri Lankan refugees began a hunger strike in Oslo in late January after deportation notices were served on them. Social workers say a refugee was taken to Sweden and after the Sri Lankan embassy in Stockholm issued them passports, deported to Sri Lanka. The applications of 311 of the 400 Sri Lankans who sought asylum in Norway in 1996 were rejected. Others were granted humanitarian leave to remain, but no one was given full refugee status.
Denmark received 126 Sri Lankan refugees in 1996. Around 150 are currently facing deportation. Reports say that Scandinavian Interior ministries have decided to post a special attache to Colombo to investigate refugees from Sri Lanka. The attache will also monitor conditions of returned asylum-seekers from Scandinavia.
Meanwhile, Chitra Rajendran who was deported from Denmark in November has complained that the Sri Lankan police is hounding her. The Crime Detection Bureau (CDB) detained Chitra and her brother-in-law for a day in early January and seized their passports. Chitra’s lawyer says the detention and the seizure of passports are illegal. Reports say as a result of continuous harassment by the CDB she is unable to find proper accommodation in Colombo.
Constitutional Affairs minister GL Peiris says the proposed referendum, if the opposition United National Party (UNP) opposes the devolution proposals in Parliament, will be non-binding and for five areas: devolution of power to the regions, abolition of the executive presidency, transfer of current executive powers to Parliament, establishment of a second parliament chamber to allow more representation to minority communities and increase of powers of the Supreme Court.
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