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Deportation of Tamil refugees stopped with spontaneous blockade

Stop Deportations | 03.06.2012 11:38 | Migration

No lock-ons, tripods or superglue...just bodies. A spontaneous sit-down protest in front of an airport-bound deportation coach helped gain time for a last ditch legal challenge, which cancelled the enforced removal of about 40 ‘failed’ Tamil asylum-seekers.

WH Tours - complicit as usual in mass deportations
WH Tours - complicit as usual in mass deportations


A defiant protest by family, friends and supporters of Tamil refugees outside Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) Thursday morning delayed the departure of an airport-bound deportation bus, but ended with 4 arrests. Their action provided extra time for barristers to win very last minute injunctions from the High Court, which cancelled the deportation of around 40 people; one man was already seated aboard the aircraft with the engine running when news came through that his removal was stayed.

Two large coaches loaded with deportation guards had arrived at Colnbrook IRC at 8.20am. A dozen friends and family members of deportees gathered from 9am for an emotional farewell vigil outside the detention centre. Supporters believed that some of the people due to be deported would be tortured by the Sri Lankan government on return. Their claim is supported by several new reports. [1][2][3]

When the first coach tried to exit Colnbrook at 11 am, supporters spontaneously ran out in front of the coach in protest. Several people sat in the road and the coach driver turned off the engine. The second coach was able to exit the detention centre.

Security staff and police were challenged about their awareness of the human rights situation in Sri Lanka – protestors brandished copies of Freedom From Torture’s report into ongoing torture in Sri Lanka and asked them if they had watched Channel 4′s ‘Killing Fields’ documentary, which none of them had. Protestors also reminded the most senior police officer at the scene, Inspector Qasim, of Britain’s obligations under Article 3 of the UN Convention Against Torture (“No State Party shall expel, return (“refouler”) or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture”).

More police were called to the scene, including a dog unit and a firearms officer, in what felt like an attempt to intimidate the small group of a dozen supporters. The police, of course, did not facilitate free assembly and expression, instead deciding to stop people from protesting at 11.30 am. They forcibly cleared protestors from the road, without making clear which section of the Public Order Act they were using. 2 protestors were aggressively handcuffed, and another 2 bystanders were randomly arrested. The coach then left for the airport, and the arrestees were taken to West Drayton Police Station.

They were held in custody for almost 12 hours before being released: 2 without charge, 2 on minor charges.

This 30-minute delay was crucial in barristers obtaining injunctions in the High Court preventing many people from being deported. Justice Eady stated that “the recent Human Rights Watch report, dated 29.05.2012 suggests that there may be new evidence relevant to the risk of ill treatment”. Channel 4 explained that: “The Human Rights Watch report in question called on the government to suspend the planned deportations in light of 13 cases it had documented of failed Tamil asylum seekers being tortured by the security forces on return to Sri Lanka, most recently in February this year”. Yesterday’s flight was the fifth British government charter flight to Sri Lanka since June last year.

Sources at Colombo Airport claim that 36 people were however deported (22 Tamils, 8 Sinhaleese and 6 Muslims), accompanied by 72 British officials, and interviewed on arrival by the notorious Sri Lankan C.I.D. It is standard practice for the UK Border Agency to employ at least 2 private security guards from the firm ‘Reliance’ for each deportee.

There are more videos of yesterdays protest which will be published at some point.

[1]  http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/05/29/uk-suspend-deportations-tamils-sri-lanka
[2]  http://www.freedomfromtorture.org/news-blogs/6348
[3] tamilnet.com/img/publish/2012/05/Failed_Asylum_Seekers_SL_May_2012.pdf

Stop Deportations

Comments

Hide the following 8 comments

so just to confirm

04.06.2012 10:11

the end result was that a few of these people were able to spend yet more Legal Aid money delaying the inevitable before finally being deported after all?

Tax payer pays - lawyer gets money
asylum seekers get deported.

result ! you must be so proud

Gary


???

04.06.2012 13:27

"the end result was that a few of these people were able to spend yet more Legal Aid money delaying the inevitable before finally being deported after all?"

Errrrm, and that is a valuable addition to this story how exactly?

Mahinda Rajapaksa.


Sorry you missed the point, let me explain.

04.06.2012 13:49

Actions of this kind give those involved a nice warm feeling of having 'helped' while doing absolutely nothing for the poor innocent wretches being held in prison


Gary


@ Gary

04.06.2012 15:29

"Their action provided extra time for barristers to win very last minute injunctions from the High Court, which cancelled the deportation of around 40 people; one man was already seated aboard the aircraft with the engine running when news came through that his removal was stayed."

40 people were NOT deported because of this action. As a result they were NOT arrested tortured or killed on arrival in Sri Lanka. The action did more than just give the people taking part (which included Tamils) a 'warm' feeling. It was part of a wider campaign that is workign to undermine a biased immigration system.

At Gary


Deportations, the reality.

04.06.2012 15:49

"Actions of this kind give those involved a nice warm feeling of having 'helped' while doing absolutely nothing for the poor innocent wretches being held in prison"

Having been involved in deportation prevention (successfully) I can attest to just how difficult it is. You have to go to the government in the first part, the High Court in the second and then if all that fails to the ECHR. Without the required paperwork and evidence the system is heavily geared toward the government.

Its very well known that the British government in all its forms (Labour, Cons and LibDems) are atrotious in this area and especially with the Tamils. The British governments view is still that killing large numbers of Tamils by the Sri Lankan military was a very successful anti-terrorism operation. They say otherwise but unfortunately that isn't worth the paper its written on.

This governments behavior does not in any way shape or form even remotely resemble the statements it has made in public. What we have here, is a very cynical and dishonest attempt at public deception.

It is still not safe for Tamils to return and what happens to any of the people evicted into peril this time around falls firmly and justifiably on this current governments shoulders. Between the Sri Lankan government, and the British government - these deportees are being played with.

Were the situation to be different - in fact were the government to be telling the truth instead of lying through its clenched teeth, then this public money would not have been spent at all.

TB


Sri Lanka is perfectly safe

04.06.2012 16:03

For all people. Tamils like living in the UK because they earn more money which they send home (this was how they financed their war and terrorism for years) now the war is over there is no reason for them to stay.

Theirs is economic migration not fleeing any oppression.

Regular visitor to Sri Lanka


Correction.

04.06.2012 17:22

"For all people. Tamils like living in the UK because they earn more money which they send home (this was how they financed their war and terrorism for years) now the war is over there is no reason for them to stay.

Theirs is economic migration not fleeing any oppression."



The Sri Lankan Army [SLA] has taken over the north of the Island and is actively engaged in preventing return of those displaced. They have seized business and property and are making a lot of trouble for Tamils who show up to reclaim their property. This is nothing more than an extension of the policy that has been ongoing on the island since 2008 and into 2009.

The Sri Lankan Army is actively engaged in continuing persecution of Tamils on the island.

While Tamils were being massacred on the island in 2009, the above commentator and others like him/her were continually posting pidgeon English on the internet that the Tamils were simply being rescued and that the international community should not concern itself with what they were doing.

While these people were knowingly doing this, 40,000 people were dying. Many of them raped, abused, tortured and summarily executed. This included women and children. The policy was indiscriminate because it was the product of political planning by the Sri Lankan government.

The UN are now investigation both war crimes and human rights abuses and have evidence in abundance, much of it supplied by the Sri Lankan military itself. The Sri Lankan government continue to deny any wrongdoing as do those who continually spread disinformation on the internet on its behalf.

TB


regular visitor

04.06.2012 17:24

*** @Regular visitor to Sri Lanka ****

Lots of people visit Sri Lanka.

Almost none of them visit the north.

Anon