PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION FOR OCEAN LADY NEWCOMERS TO BE GRANTED REFUGEE STATUS ON HUMANITARIAN GROUNDS.
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Subject: Petition for "Ocean Lady" newcomers to be granted refugee status on humanitarian grounds
--- COPY AND PASTE FROM HERE TO YOUR BODY PART OF THE EMAIL[Your First&Last Names]
[Your City],[Your Province]
[Today's Date]
The Honorable Jason Kenney, P.C. , M.P.
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1L1
Petition for "Ocean Lady" newcomers to be granted refugee status on humanitarian grounds
Canadians are thankful to you for allowing due process and ensuring the Ocean Lady passengers a fair hearing. All 76 passengers on the Ocean Lady vessel, if determined by Canada to be ethnic Tamils from Sri Lanka, must be granted refugee status, given the life threatening situation in Sri Lanka for ethnic Tamil civilians.
It is well understood, hundreds of thousands of ethnic Tamil civilians have been killed and those alive face persecution at the hands of the brutal Sri Lankan regime known to have committed grave human rights violations, extra-judicial killings, torture and possible war crimes during and after the civil war as documented by UN reports, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International (AI). Currently, nearly 300,000 ethnic Tamil civilians are held illegally in internment camps as further documented by the UN, HRW and AI.
Canada must pay careful attention to the fact that the latest reports from European Union (EU) on October 19th, 2009 also point out that Sri Lanka's human rights standard does not meet the international standard and based on that Sri Lanka might lose the privilege of the trade benefit from EU. Also US State Department report released on possible violations of the laws of war in Sri Lanka made public on October 22, 2009 shows the need for an independent international investigation.
Refugees from Sri Lanka have a higher acceptance rate because it is more dangerous in Sri Lanka for ethnic Tamil civilians as stated by Doug Cannon, immigration lawyer. He has further stated Sri Lanka is a dangerous country for press freedom which resonates with statements by humanitarian organizations. Canada’s Defence minister Peter MacKay had stated that Canada was not at risk from the passengers. Additionally, Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan has identified Canada’s first priority as one of humanitarian. Therefore,
Canadians strongly urge you to please:
- Grant refugee status to the 76 ethnic Tamil passengers since there is a genuine risk of persecution for Tamils in Sri Lanka by the Sri Lankan regime.
-Reunite passengers with Canadian relatives.
Please Consider:
- The 76 passengers have an opportunity to be heard and assessed as to their suitability to stay in Canada and ensure that due process is adhered to and they are given a fair hearing.
- Consult the HRW, AI and ACHRC for data on the brutal regime in Sri Lanka.
- Recognize that the passengers may have relatives who are hard-working and contributing citizens of Canada who were former refugees.
- Recognize the concerns put forward by the NDP, Liberal and Conservative leaders regarding genuine life threatening risks ethnic Tamil civilians face from the Sri Lankan regime.
We sincerely hope you would consider our urgent plea.
Thank you,
Yours Truly,
[Signature]