Asylum Seekers: Refugee Claims

Civil Conflict Dept: The confidential cable, dated Oct. 28, 2009, shows that U.S. officials believed that the Ocean Lady freighter plus a recent surge of Sri Lankans attempting to reach Australia marked "increasing desperation and sophistication" of Tamil migrants hoping to reach Western countries, according to CBC. Canadian security officials seized the freighter off the coast of British Columbia on Oct. 17, 2009, taking all 76 men aboard into custody. All passengers immediately filed refugee claims. After an investigation into possible links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE, a group classified as a terrorist organization by Canada, all of them were released and the U.S. government carefully watched how Canada dealt with MV Ocean Lady a boat full of Tamil asylum seekers which arrived in B.C. in late 2009 and worried it was a sign of more to come, diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks reveal. "Intense recent efforts by Sri Lankans to reach Western countries by boat reflect individual desperation as well as larger questions about how Tamil minorities particularly young men affected by civil conflict perceive their future prospects," the U.S. State Department cable released to News says. As reported in the news.
@t liberation tigers of tamil eelam, state department cable