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Asylum ship approaching Canadian coast
OTTAWA, Potential asylum seekers will watch how a boatload of Tamils are received in Canada before deciding whether they will follow, a terrorism expert said.
The MV Sun Sea, with 200 Tamils from Sri Lanka aboard seeking asylum in Canada, is approaching British Columbia, The Globe and Mail reported Thursday.
A terrorism expert in Singapore says more ships are preparing to sail.
"There are two other vessels that are planning to conduct a similar voyage to Canada," said Rohan Gunaratna, who heads a research center in Singapore.
Gunaratna, whose area of expertise is Sri Lanka's Liberation Tigers of Tamil, was one of the first people to disclose the Sun Sea was headed for Canada when the ship appeared to be heading for Australia.
Canadian officials had no comment on a report that the ship is carrying high-ranking members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a banned terrorist organization in Canada, The Globe and Mail said.
Although the Sri Lankan government has repeatedly said the Sun Sea is engaged in human smuggling, human rights groups argue it is making a legitimate humanitarian voyage in the aftermath of the civil war in Sri Lanka, which the Tamil group was defeated.
OTTAWA, Potential asylum seekers will watch how a boatload of Tamils are received in Canada before deciding whether they will follow, a terrorism expert said.
The MV Sun Sea, with 200 Tamils from Sri Lanka aboard seeking asylum in Canada, is approaching British Columbia, The Globe and Mail reported Thursday.
A terrorism expert in Singapore says more ships are preparing to sail.
"There are two other vessels that are planning to conduct a similar voyage to Canada," said Rohan Gunaratna, who heads a research center in Singapore.
Gunaratna, whose area of expertise is Sri Lanka's Liberation Tigers of Tamil, was one of the first people to disclose the Sun Sea was headed for Canada when the ship appeared to be heading for Australia.
Canadian officials had no comment on a report that the ship is carrying high-ranking members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a banned terrorist organization in Canada, The Globe and Mail said.
Although the Sri Lankan government has repeatedly said the Sun Sea is engaged in human smuggling, human rights groups argue it is making a legitimate humanitarian voyage in the aftermath of the civil war in Sri Lanka, which the Tamil group was defeated.
