The Foreign Secretary is quite aware of the dire human rights situation in Sri Lanka. This has been a subject of concern for UN officials and highly placed sources in several governments including the US. As such, I do not wish to burden you with details of the poor Human Rights situation in Sri Lanka. I would only point to the latest bizarre abduction and murder last week of a Tamil communication engineer Vigneswara (27 years) whose body was found dumped in a plantation almost 50 km away from Colombo where he was abducted.
It is very disturbing to note that failed Tamil asylum seekers are being removed to Colombo where they are at risk of courting arrest/detention and ill treatment. The fact that some returnees have lost their lives soon after return speaks volumes about the risk such Tamil returnees face in Sri Lanka. It is, therefore, no surprise that scores of immigration detainees facing removal have lost all hope of a genuine assessment by the Home Office of the scandalous human rights situation in Sri Lanka. They have found it fit to lose their lives in the United Kingdom rather than face gory deaths in Sri Lanka, like Vigneswara.
I am of the firm belief that the Home Office Border & Immigration Agency is downplaying the human rights situation of Tamils in Sri Lanka for the sole purpose of statistics concerning immigration removals. Forced removal of Tamils to Colombo, the hunger strike aside, by the B & I A runs counter to the hallowed principles to which the United Kingdom has given precedence over decades.
In the circumstances, I ask you to urgently intercede with the Secretary of State to defer forced removals at least until there is a semblance of reform in Sri Lanka in the field of human rights concerning Tamils.
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