Boatpeople facing expulsion over security concerns on former Tamil fighters

as posted here

Paul Maley | October 06, 2009

Article from: The Australian

SECURITY officials may move to expel some of the Sri Lankan boat people detained at Christmas Island over concerns they are Tamil Tiger fighters and could pose a risk to the community.

Some young men are believed to have raised suspicions because they have injuries consistent with warfare, such as shrapnel wounds. Officials are concerned they could be Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam fighters trying to pass themselves off as asylum-seekers.

While not proscribed in Australia, the LTTE has been listed as a terrorist organisation here since 2001.

It is either banned, proscribed or listed as a terrorist organisation in 31 other countries, including the US, UK and Canada.

Yesterday, Sri Lanka's high commissioner to Australia, Senaka Walgampaya, said security agencies in Colombo had indicated there was a strong possibility Tigers were among the latest wave of boat-borne asylum-seekers to reach Australia.

"I have in fact informed (the Department of Immigration and Citizenship) also that there is a really strong possibility that the combatants, the LTTE cadres, will try to infiltrate, will try to come into Australia," he said.

In May, Sri Lankan troops crushed the decades-old Tamil separatist movement, sparking a humanitarian calamity.

The high commissioner's remarks came as Immigration officials prepared to repatriate three Sri Lankan boatpeople, who landed as part of a group of 12 at Shark Bay on the northwest coast in November. Eight of the group have been deported, including two forcibly returned on Sunday.

Mr Walgampaya said the repatriation of the men, understood to be Sinhalese economic migrants, would discourage other potential boatpeople. The increasing number of boat arrivals threatens to overwhelm the offshore processing centre at Christmas Island, with immigration officials preparing to open the Northern immigration detention centre in Darwin to cope with the overflow.

The high commissioner's advice is in line with concerns raised by Australian security agencies, who are understood to have warned Immigration that ASIO could be set to issue adverse security assessments against some Sri Lankans already in detention.

Such a finding would make the men ineligible for an Australian visa and create a dilemma for the Australian government, who would risk jeopardising the men's safety should they return them to Sri Lanka.

Several Sri Lankan detainees at Christmas Island had aroused the suspicion of guards with their regimented behaviour, such as exercising in small groups at first light. Some of the men, understood to be young and fit, are also said to carry injuries similar to those suffered in combat.

An Immigration Department spokesman yesterday refused to say if any adverse security assessments had been issued, saying it was a matter for ASIO.

And, while it is likely at least some of those in detention fought with the Tamils, it is not certain they will be denied visas as a result.

The Tamil Tigers are not a proscribed terrorist organisation in Australia and not everyone who served with them necessarily poses a threat to the community.

The fall of the last Tamil redoubt in May triggered a humanitarian catastrophe in Sri Lanka and warnings from the Australian government that increased refugee numbers were likely.

The UN estimated that up to 7000 civilians may have died as a result of the fighting in the first four months of this year.

More than 250,000 Tamil civilians have been interned by the Sri Lankan government, which claims it is screening the Tamil population for former fighters.

Mr Walgampaya said his government was "rehabilitating" ex-combatants and denied unsuccessful Sri Lankan asylum-seekers faced any risk should they return home.

Mr Walgampaya said there was a risk ex-Tamil fighters would come to Australia to "reactivate" their networks.

This risk, he said, was based on advice from the Sri Lankan government.

"There is a large Tamil diaspora here and really it's a very dangerous situation here if they come and start their activities again here," Mr Walgampaya said.

"Now that the LTTE have been defeated militarily in Sri Lanka they will try to come here and reactivate their network."

When asked if he believed LTTE fighters might already be on the boats, he replied: "I believe so ... I can't tell you the information I have but that's a firm belief."

Last month around 500 asylum-seekers arrived by boat, with favourable seasonal conditions expected to deliver similar - or greater numbers - in the months ahead.

The surge makes it all but certain the government will begin transferring asylum-seekers to the mainland for the final stages of processing, with the Christmas Island detention centre near capacity.

Immigration Department officials are understood to be readying a facility in Darwin that has an normal operating capacity of 382 and a surge capacity of 546.

as posted here