By IANS,
Toronto : Sri Lanka is holding captive several foreign nationals, including Canadians of Tamil origin, for allegedly fighting alongside Tamil Tigers for an independent homeland, reports here say.
Quoting Sri Lankan authorities, reports say some foreign-based Tamils, allegedly conscripted by the Tamil Tigers, are being held in camps for former rebels.
The Canadian foreign ministry has confirmed that at least four of its nationals are currently being held by the Sri Lankans. It has sought confirmation from Colombo about their exact numbers.
“Our High Commission in Colombo has sent a diplomatic note to the Sri Lankan government requesting confirmation of the number of Canadian citizens that are being detained,” foreign ministry spokesperson Laura Markle has been quoted as saying in the Canadian media.
A Tamil family in Brampton on the outskirts of Toronto has confirmed that their son, who had gone to Sri Lanka in October 2007, is being held in a camp for captured Tamil rebels.
Reports from Colombo quote the captured Canadian George Julius as saying that he was “forcibly conscripted by the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam)”.
He has allegedly told the authorities that the Tiger police confiscated his passport when he arrived in Sri Lanka and forced him to join them. Canadian parliamentary secretary Deepak Obhrai, who visited the war-ravaged areas of Sri Lanka earlier this week, was told by the Sri Lankans that the captured Canadian “is a combatant”.
“We were told he was held at a camp which is for combatants, which is separate, which they classify as a rehabilitation camp,” Obhrai said. But the Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) said Thursday that it has no knowledge of any Tamil Canadian fighting alongside the LTTE.
“Considering Sri Lanka’s record, people should be cautious about making judgments on the basis of reports coming from there,” said CTC spokesperson David Poopalapillai.
“The war was conducted without witnesses for so long. But even after declaring the war is over, Sri Lanka has not allowed independent and neutral observers to the war-hit areas,” he said.
“Under these circumstances, it is very hard to believe what is coming out from government sources. We want independent media and neutral observers to have free access to investigate this claim.
“Until then, we must remain cautious and skeptical about the government’s claims as torture could have played a role in this case,” Poopalapillai said.