Australian-funded cameras linked to rise in boat people

Australian-funded cameras linked to rise in boat people

The Age
MATT WADE, COLOMBO
October 28, 2009

SURVEILLANCE cameras funded by the Australian Government at Colombo airport have been linked with a spate of extra-judicial arrests - and could be pushing the rise in boat people.

Reports of unexplained detentions at the airport could be encouraging Tamil asylum seekers to opt for risky illegal boat journeys, local sources told The Age.

High-profile Tamil MP Mano Ganesan said at least 29 people had been detained at the airport this month. A Government official confirmed the figure, saying only 11 of those detained had been released.

Mr Ganesan said no notification had been given to the families of those detained.

He also claimed the airport's surveillance cameras had been used to target Tamils.

''These CCTV cameras are being used to monitor the movement of Tamil people,'' he said. ''Through the cameras they identify suspects and then the policemen are accosting people. No one knows if they will be able to catch their flight.''

A Sri Lankan NGO worker told The Age that humanitarian workers and human rights activists were also wary about using Colombo airport, the nation's international gateway.

''There is definitely a lot of fear now that you will be stopped at the airport,'' he said. ''There is a sense that a screening process going on.''

The disappearances at the airport meant many young Tamils had opted for boats rather than departure by air, said one official speaking to The Age on condition of anonymity.

A spokeswoman for the Australian high commission in Colombo confirmed that ''in co-operation with the Government of Sri Lanka, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship funded the installation of closed-circuit television cameras at Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo, which was completed in April 2008''.

But it is possible this aid, aimed at boosting Sri Lanka's border security, may be contributing to the flow of Tamils taking boat voyages in the hope of finding asylum overseas.

A 25-year civil war between the Sri Lankan army and the separatist Tamil Tigers ended with the military defeat of the rebels in May.

It is believed the surveillance cameras have helped authorities identify passengers suspected of having links with the Tigers.

But Mr Ganesan says innocent Tamils are being targeted.

''Even Tamils leaving the country with legitimate visas for education, business or personal reasons are being harassed and detained at the airport,'' he said.

''It is very difficult to tell the difference between arrest and abduction. When people get arrested at the airport, or elsewhere in the city, the police do not inform family members or follow the correct rules and regulations. They just take them away.''

The Sri Lankan Government says many of the alleged disappearances are false and intended to discredit it.

But Mr Ganesan said the number of people apprehended at the airport had risen significantly since the end of the war.

No one from Sri Lanka's immigration department was available to comment.