On Thursday, June 5, about 40 people demonstrated in front of the Bukit Aman police headquarters against the arrest and deportation of three asylum seekers to Sri Lanka.

During the protest, we urged the inspector-general of police to answer questions posed by Penang Deputy Chief Minister P Ramasamy and Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran.

Recently, police arrested three asylum seekers from Sri Lanka on suspicion that they are Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) members.

In response, Ramasamy challenged the IGP to prove that the trio are indeed LTTE members. However, the IGP has yet to take up the challenge.

Besides that, Kulasegaran has also asked if the arrest was upon the request of the Sri Lankan government, and if the IGP is willing to state that on record. The IGP has remained silent.

The question remains, why were these three asylum-seekers sent back to Sri Lanka? They are innocent and have resided in Malaysia since 2004 with refugee status, acknowleged by the United Nations.

The IGP's excuse that they were in posession of LTTE campaign materials, LTTE flags and foreign currency amounting to RM20,000, and are as such LTTE members, does not make sense.

Many Tamils, including myself, are in posession of LTTE campaign materials, flags and T-shirts but we are not LTTE members.

The government and police must stop cooperating with the Sri Lankan government, which has been accused of war crimes. Why has the BN government formed diplomatic relations with such a government? Do they support the genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka?

LTTE and its leader Prabakaran are icons in the Tamil community, and Tamils worldwide keep his picture and the LTTE logo. Would the IGP also call them terrorists? Has the LTTE launched any attacks on Malaysia? If not, why do we term them terrorists?

Malaysia is a free country with its own government, constitution, laws and ministries. The government of Malaysia should have its own stand and not ape Sri Lanka in terming LTTE as terrorists.

And even if the three asylum-seekers are LTTE members, the police should charge them in court as we have anti-terrorism laws.

Failure to do so shows that the BN government is in cahoots with Sri Lanka in hunting down Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, while disregarding the sentiments of the Tamil community. Could the Malaysian government guaranteethat the three asylum-seekers will not disappear or be killed in Sri Lanka?

We are not afraid of anyone as we know that the truth is one side. We are willing to face anything to ensure justice for the Sri Lanka refugees.

I, too, am willing to meet with the IGP and the home minister to hear his explanation, but does the IGP dare to do so? Answer us or face mass protests in Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor.

 

MA KALAIMUGILAN is president of Pertubuhan Progresif Tamilar Malaysia. The letter was translated from Bahasa Malaysia.