By Eileen Gould
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania
CANBERRA, Australia – Australia has asked the Canadian government to resettle a small number of Tamil refugees whose boat was found in international waters last October.
Australia has used “robust foreign diplomacy”, calling upon other countries to resettle the asylum seekers.
Canada has agreed to consider those refugees who have close family in Canada.
A representative of Australia’ Department of Citizenship and Immigration, Douglas Kellam, stated that “[t]he only cases Canada has agreed to consider – and none have been accepted so far – are those that can demonstrate that they have close family links to somebody here in Canada, that they have been referred by the UNHCR … and we’ll have to be satisfied that they are not otherwise inadmissible to Canada,”
In October, approximately seventy-eight Sri Lankan Tamil were rescued by an Australian customs vessel, the Oceanic Viking, and brought back to Indonesia. The Tamils refused to disembark when they were brought back to Indonesia, where they had been living for a few years.
The result was a month long stand-off, with the Tamils refusing to leave the Oceanic Viking.
Last month, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), whose job is to find countries to resettle refugees, officially declared the Tamils to be refugees and prompted the Australian government to find homes for them.
Canada is not the only country involved in discussions to resettle the Tamil refugees. Norway and New Zealand have also offered to support the United Nations to take in some of the refugees, and the U.S. may also be in discussions with Australia.
New Zealand refused to accept some of the Tamils last month. However, New Zealand’s Immigration minister claims that it may reconsider.
Dr. Jonathan Coleman said, “If people from the Oceanic Viking were to be included as part of the normal refugee quota selection process facilitated by UNHCR, New Zealand would be prepared to consider them.”
The Department of Citizenship and Immigration official stated that Australia is unsure of the number of refugees that will resettle in Canada.
According to Kellam, “it is not a common thing” for Australia to ask other countries to take in refugees.
Australia will begin its resettlement program next weekend.
For more information please see:
National Post – Australia asks Canada to resettle Tamil refugees – 18 December 2009
New Zealand Herald – NZ considers accepting Tamil boatpeople – report – 18 December 2009
ABC News – Australia looks to friends to resettle Tamils – 17 December 2009
