August 20, Vancouver – The immigrant and refugee rights group No One Is Illegal is organizing rallies across Canada to demand that Canadian government officials respect the human rights of the 492 Tamil migrants aboard the MV Sun Sea. Rallies will be taking place in Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Victoria, Kitchener-Waterloo and unsurrendered Wet’suwet’en Territories throughout the week. In Vancouver, hundreds are expected to gather on Saturday August 21 at the Vancouver Art Gallery (Robson Side) at 3:30 pm. Details for other cities can be found here https://noii-van.resist.ca/?p=2198

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CANADIAN TAMIL CONGRESS DEEPLY CONCERNED ABOUT RECENT CANADIAN GOVERNMENT RHETORIC

The Canadian Tamil Congress is deeply concerned about the Canadian government’s recent and ongoing rhetoric on the migrants aboard the MV Sun Sea which is inciting distrust and anger towards them. It is inappropriate for the government to speculate or draw conclusions on the innocence or guilt of the MV Sun Sea’s passengers before much needed inquiries have been completed. The Canadian Tamil Congress believes that the discussion about human trafficking and Canada’s immigration policies is necessary. However, it should be conducted in a manner that does not compromise the RCMP and CSIS to carry out a separate and independent investigation.

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Marten Youssef, Globe and Mail, Aug. 18, 2010

The Tamil migrants from the MV Sun Sea continue to be detained until their identities can be confirmed – something that will have to wait until Canadian immigration authorities sift through a jumble of the migrants’ documents and belongings inside two U-Haul trucks. When the 492 migrants disembarked from the MV Sun Sea last week, their identification documents and belongings were stored inside the two U-Hauls, but no record was made connecting the documents with their particular owners.

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— CALL FOR CANADA-WIDE ACTIONS —

CANADA: STOP JAILING AND DEPORTING REFUGEES, LET THEM STAY!
SUPPORT THE TAMIL MIGRANTS! SAY NO TO RACISM!

In VANCOUVER, Unceded Coast Salish Territories: Saturday August 21 @ 3:30 pm. Gather at Vancouver Art Gallery, Robson Side.

In UNSURRENDERED WET’SUWET’EN TERRITORY: Saturday August 21 “Solidarity with the Tamil Refugees and No One Is Illegal”. Moricetown Canyon, noon. Contact gitksanmanoct6@hotmail.com

In VICTORIA: Saturday August 21st 12:00pm – 4:00pm. Victoria Information Booth, Government and Belville. Organized by Victoria Anti-Racism Network (VARN).
RSVP: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=143826562315624

In OTTAWA: Monday August 23 @ Noon. Gather at corner of Kent and Laurier (Citizenship and Immigration Canada).
RSVP: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=119285261456467

In MONTREAL: Thursday August 26th from noon to 2 pm in front of Immigration and Refugee Board offices, 200 Boul. René Levesque. Organized by Friends of Tamil Refugees / Les AmiEs des RéfugiéEs Tamils. Contact 514-668-4751 or 514-449-9370.

In KITCHENER-WATERLOO: Monday August 23. Press Conference and gathering, details tbc. Contact rachel@peaceculture.org

In TORONTO: Toronto Welcomes Tamil Migrants! Saturday August 21st follow www.twitter.com/noii_to to see images of creative actions that we will be taking.

Join No One is Illegal to call for the immediate release of detained Tamil asylum seekers, and an end to racist and restrictive refugee policies. Justice, Freedom, and Status for All! Download poster PDF http://bit.ly/aq9HWI or JPG: http://bit.ly/c0VN60

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They’re at it again. In November, 76 Tamil refugees escaped Sri Lanka on a rusty freighter. They arrived in Victoria, where they were met by RCMP and Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) officials, who promptly jailed them for three months on allegations of terrorism. It would be fully half a year before the CBSA would admit that it had never had any evidence. By then, however, it was too late: anti-Tamil and anti-refugee hysteria had spread like wildfire. Now, mere weeks after that most tepid of mea culpas from the CBSA, the hysteria greeting the Tamil MV Sun Sea passengers is worse. As with the Ocean Lady, these migrants will be detained in Maple Ridge jails before their refugee claims are considered. The Conservatives have begun to create new rules to treat refugees who arrive by boat differently from others. Meanwhile, Paul Fromm, the infamous neo-Nazi, has been receiving uncritical coverage in mainstream media with his demands that the migrants be sent back. As the paranoia grows ever more heightened, it becomes increasingly important that we resist it. The universal rights of safety and mobility must be upheld, not only for the Sun Sea migrants, but for all people fleeing violence.

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