Tamil terrorist claims exaggerated, former UN official

(Liam Cochrane 16 Jul 2010Australia.)The former spokesman for the United Nations in Colombo has accused the Sri Lankan government of branding Tamil asylum seekers as terrorists, because of fears they might become witnesses in a war crimes tribunal if they are granted asylum in Australia. The UN has established a panel to investigate if a war crimes tribunal is the appropriate mechanism to look to the last months of the 26-year-long civil war, which, ended last year. Since the start of 2009, a total of 1,129 Sri Lankan asylum seekers have arrived in Australia, with about 30 per cent being granted asylum, 7 per cent being refused and sent back, and the rest of the cases still pending. The Australian media this week published comments by a Sri Lankan security analyst who said up to half of all Tamil asylum seekers had links to the Tamil Tigers, and that the Tamil Tigers had links to Al Qaeda. Former UN spokesman Gordon Weiss says those claims are false. "Why is it that they are sending people out to sell this idea? This notion that these people are a danger to the security of Australia, that they have links with international terrorism, that are an ongoing danger and that they are taking advantage of our immigration system?" Mr Weiss said. "The only conceivable reason can be that the Sri Lankans are trying to prevent people who have witnessed what happened in the north of the country during the war [from receiving asylum in Australia]," he said. http://www.radioaustralianews.net.au/stories/201007/2956233.htm?desktop