By Gurmukh Singh, IANS
Vancouver : Supporters of Laibar Singh, an Indian who entered Canada on a fake passport in 2003 and was to be deported earlier this month, are upset with media reports that they had abandoned the failed refugee status claimant and “confronted” the media to reiterate their support for him.
At a news conference here Saturday, his supporters told the media that Singh continued to enjoy full support from the whole South Asian community and many white mainstream organisations, and they had not abandoned him after stopping his deportation on Dec 10.
When media persons highlighted the fact that Singh had entered Canada on a fake passport, his supporters said there was nothing illegal in it as Canadian and UN laws allowed entry to refugees without valid papers.
Annoyed by what they termed “biased reporting by the mainstream media”, Singh’s supporters said this was causing misconceptions in the mainstream community about this case.
Speaking to IANS, Harjap Grewal, spokesman for Singh’s supporters, said: “We are planning legal action against some section of the media as they persist with their misinformation campaign. We quoted the law to tell them that there was nothing illegal in Singh’s entry on a fake passport, but the media is not willing to listen. It is one of the scandalous approaches that the Canadian media has taken in recent times.”
He claimed that the law was on their side as “Section 178 of the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act recognises that refugee claimants are able to travel with falsified documents, clearly recognising it as a legal act on the part of refugees. Clearly, it is not considered an `illegal’ way to enter the country.”
Quoting Janet Cleveland, Canada Research Chair in International Migration Law, he added: “The fact that Singh used false documents to enter Canada and to claim refugee status cannot be held against him, as is stated expressly in the Geneva Convention and other instruments of international and Canadian Law. I would like to reiterate that I support Laibar Singh’s right to stay in Canada where he can receive the care he needs to live in dignity.”
The organisers of the press conference claimed that there was no drop in support for Singh, citing the names of the various organisations which continued to back his cause.
“In addition to 13 gurdwaras with thousands of members, and several non-faith-based South Asian groups, Laibar Singh enjoys support from major bodies such as the Council of Canadians (the largest citizens’ organization in Canada), the League of Rights and Liberties of Quebec, the Canadian Labour Congress, the Canadian Postal Workers’ Union, the British Columbia Hospital Employees’ Union, British Columbia Coalition of People with Disabilities, and the Association of Chinese Canadians for Equality and Solidarity Society,” an organiser told IANS.
A widower from Punjab, Singh had entered Canada on a fake passport in 2003. Even as he filed for refugee status, he was paralysed last year and is bed-ridden now in the care of a Surrey gurdwara.
After he lost his case, Singh was ordered to be deported last June. But a day before, he was whisked from hospital to a gurdwara by his supporters. He got two reprieves of 60 days each even as his lawyer filed fresh pleas on humanitarian grounds.
When he was about to be deported on Dec 10, his supporters stopped the Canadian Border Security Agency (CBSA) at Vancouver airport from putting him on a flight back to India.