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Now Canada-Lanka powwow on illegal entry
View(s):By Leon Berenger
A delegation led by Canadian Immigration and Citizenship Minister Jason Kenney arrived in the country yesterday for talks with top defence officials and others to discuss ways of cracking down on human smuggling operations.
Mr. Kenney’s visit comes barely two weeks after Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr visited the country for talks with the Government on the same issue.
Mr. Kenney is listed to meet with Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Navy Commander vice Admiral Jayanath Colombage External Affairs Minister Professor G. L. Peiris and several other top Government officials during his two-day visit.
External Affairs Secretary Karunatilleke Amunugama told the Sunday Times that the visit was initiated at the request on the Canadian side and it was probably encouraged following the recent visit to the country by the Australian delegation.
“It appears that Mr. Kenney and his delegation is on a fact-finding-mission because Canada is the home to a powerful Tamil Diaspora that has accused Colombo of continuing harassment of ethnic Tamils in the country.
The Canadian delegation is free to travel to any part of the country including the North and East. There are no restrictions whatsoever,” Mr. Amunugama added. The visit at this stage is encouraging since both sides could deal with the human smuggling operations upfront and exchange views and ideas in tackling the issue, he said.
Meanwhile the Canadian delegation will also brief the Government on the country’s new asylum system that came into force on December 15 last year which is intended to make it safer and fairer, a source with the Canadian High Commission Office on Colombo said.
Under the asylum system, genuine refugees fleeing persecution will receive protection at the earliest. At the same time, bogus asylum seekers, those who abuse the system at a great expense to the tax payer will be taken out and sent back much faster, Canadian media reported.
Unlike the many hundreds that left the country by boat to the Australian coast over the recent months there had been no such intrusions into Canadian waters by Sri Lankan refugees. The last known boat of Sri Lankan refugees that landed in Canada was the MV Sun Sea some two years ago. Since then there has been no attempted illegal entry by sea to Canada by Sri Lankans, Mr. Amunugama said.
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