Boat people to Australia:

Kingpin operating from overseas?

By Manjula FERNANDO

While this story took shape late last week, the news of a fresh boatload of Australia bound illegal immigrants reached the newsroom, the seventh of such boats intercepted within a course of ten days by the Navy.

Nevertheless, a few other boats which originated from Sri Lanka successfully reached the shores of Christmas Island in the past weeks while some of the boats with illegal immigrants from elsewhere capsised killing the unfortunate fortune seekers. According to the Sri Lankan mission in Canberra, no Lankans were in the capsised boats.

The latest boat carrying bogus asylum seekers from Sri Lanka, a multi-day fishing trawler with 67 men on board was intercepted by the Navy some eight nautical miles off Wennapuwa on Thursday (19th) night.

Those arrested and handed over to the CID for investigations included residents of Ampara, Batticaloa, Colombo, Jaffna, Negombo, Nuwara Eliya and Wennapuwa.

Earlier on July 10, two multi-day fishing trawlers illegally headed for Australia were intercepted 35 nautical miles south east of Trincomalee in the early hours.

The small crafts were packed with 78 men, two women and two children. The Navy said “these passengers” who had opted for the perilous journey in poor condition in the small fishing boats were in grave danger of their lives due to choppy seas triggered by bad weather conditions at the time.

Then, “Mihiru Putha” carrying 31 men, five women and five children – two boys and three girls including an infant – was detained, again in the deep seas off Trincomalee on July 13.

The vessel had stocks of food rations and other belongings staked to last their half month extremely dangerous voyage. On July 14, a fast naval craft detected yet another over crowded trawler heading for Australia, it was 25 nautical miles of Kalkudah. “Sewandi Duwa” with 109 males were brought to the Trincomalee Naval Base averting a possible mid-sea tragedy. It was revealed the men were from Chilaw, Kalmunai, Kalpitiya, Thalawakelle and Valachchenai.

Later, on July 16 another boat with 61 adult males was intercepted while heading towards Australia. “Irusha” was apprehended 37 nautical miles east of Trincomalee by a fast naval patrol craft of the Eastern Naval Command.

The very next day on July 17th, gliding through rough seas, 35 nautical miles east of Batticaloa, another boat was intercepted. This time there were 35 men, four women and two children. Thirty eight of the arrested were from Batticaloa while the others were from Valachchenai.

Police spokesman SP Ajith Rohana said altogether 510 suspects have been arrested while trying to depart to Australia as illegal immigrants since January this year, up to date. This included 30 suspects who were involved in the human smuggling operation, mostly fishermen.

Meanwhile, the Immigration and Emigration Department reportedly announced that nearly 1500 Sri Lankans illegally attempted to enter Australia up to July this year. Only 60 percent of the Sri Lankans who reached Australia through illegal means have left from here while others have taken off from destinations like India.

SP Rohana said, for Sri Lankans who aspire to go to Australia through illegal means, it was a choice destination in terms of distance and location.

“We suspect the main figure behind these human smuggling operations are working from overseas and there has been evidence to point out diaspora involvement in the funding for these voyages,” he said.

“From Sri Lanka to Australia, it is not a complicated route. That is one big break for the smugglers to entice potential victims.” He said, “ apart from that, the sea, in general, these days is not very rough, if you begin a voyage, this is the period that you could be sure to reach the destination without much difficulty. The rise in the number of boats leaving for Australia these days can be attributed to that as well.”

In addition, the voyage to Australia at the most, takes about 15 days. If you go to Canada or the United States the voyage is arduous and long. Besides, after the end of the war three years ago, the tight security blanket that protected the borders and the sea was gradually relaxed, and fishing boats have been allowed to venture out from any point of the coastal belt at any time of the day. This freedom has been felt more in the North and the Eastern parts of the island, where most of these boats take off.

Apart from that the majority of illegal immigrants were from very low income and uneducated backgrounds. “With as little persuasion as possible, they can be deceived into compliance so that the smugglers can get hold of their money. The majority of the people who agree to take part in the perilous journey, are looking for greener pastures. These are the visible factors.”

But there are invisible factors as well. Ninety nine percent of the suspects arrested trying to go to Australia so far are Tamils. And almost the same percentage of people are from the Northern and the Eastern parts of the country, the areas that were heavily affected by the conflict. Australia and New Zealand accommodate a sizeble community of Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora.

The Criminal Investigation Department has found funding flowing from diaspora sections to sponsor the perilous voyages for these disadvantaged people.

The investigating officers are trying to shed light into the motives behind the smuggling of these people into the Australian territory unquestionably meriting a frenzy of media coverage.

According to police, in the intercepted trawlers, there had hardly been any Tamil from the Estate sector or southern parts of the country. So inevitably, once captured by the Australian boarder control, these people have a heart rending story to tell that they are Tamils and were from war torn areas and they are being discriminated by the majority.

“We suspect that the pro LTTE diaspora is behind this campaign. We are still investigating if there is a link between Sri Lankan smugglers and the LTTE international human smuggling network, “ he said declining to divulge more details pending investigations.

Australia and Sri lanka has joined forces to fight off the stream of boat people flocking the Australian boarder control detention centre at Christmas Island. While some blame lax immigration laws of the Australian government for the influx of illegal immigrants to the mainland, others have pointed out that visa over-stayers in the country were a much greater problem than this category of illegal immigrants. According to the Parliament of Australia, the first people on boats arrived in Australia in the 1970s during the time of the Vietnam war. However, compared to the arrivals of illegal immigrants to the US, which is estimated to be around 500,000 each year, the numbers appearing at Australia’s doorstep are considered trivial.

The Australian newspapers reported that over 6000 asylum seekers arrived in Australia by boat upto July this year. Within six days up to July 19, eight boats were intercepted by the boarder control and nearly 450 people were detained. Apart from Sri Lanka, boat people to Australia arrive from countries like Afghanistan and Iraq.

The police spokesman said the persons who leave the country posing as asylum seekers via illegal means would be debarred from coming back to Sri Lanka or risk being jailed once they returned to the country. “If a person is leaving the country for another country, according to our immigration laws, that person has to go via a recognised Port. If someone attempts to leave in any other way, it is illegal and amounts to an immigration offence.”

He said even if they have already left the country, if they come back after one year or so, the charges against them will remain and when they set foot here, they can be arrested and dealt under the law. “This is something the people who think of leaving the country via illegal means must be kept in mind.” “We believe the main actor who operates these boats may not be in the country but is working from overseas,” he said adding that investigations were continuing to apprehend the big wigs behind the human smuggling racket and they expect a breakthrough soon.