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Special Assignment

7th June 1998

Who is brewing what?

Attacks on power, phones, estates-what next ask concerned citizens

By Anthony David and Chris Kamalendran

Germany's bid to crack down on immigrants

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Monday, June 1, had dawned when bleary eyed Ashoka Rathnatilake (47), the Chief Tea Maker, at Shannon Estate in Hatton poured himself a cup of tea.

He had to stay up until morning to supervise the work on 8000 kilos of green leaf picked the previous day. He had almost taken the last sip when he heard an unusual noise from a side entrance. He walked up to see what was wrong. Two men in black masks stood outside. They had cut the steel mesh in a bid to open the door. One of them thrust a hand through the broken mesh and held out a pistol at Mr. Rathnatilake. The gunman demanded the door be opened, speaking in Sinhala with a heavy Tamil accent.



Mr. Rathnatilake initially thought they were rouges who were trying to break into the premises. Sensing the danger of opening the doors he told the men outside that he had to fetch the keys from the office room and walked back. He immediately rushed to another section and alerted his fellow workers by saying "horu evilla.,horu evilla."Two of the workers, Arumugam and Sivalingam rushed out of the side entrance to find two men in black and wearing caps moving towards the factory gate. As the workers got closer one of them pointed what the workers believed to be a pistol.

The masked men were retreating and withdrew from a gap in the barbed-wire fence they had already cut beside the main gate.

The workers attacked them with stones as they were escaping and later gave chase, but could not apprehend the two. The watcher who was supposed to be on duty at the gate was missing. While all the attention was drawn to the two intruders who were escaping, a powerful bomb went off ripping through a section of the 60 year old Shennon tea factory building causing extensive damage to the grading machines. Thankfully there were no casualties.

Inspector Weerakkody
Inspector Weerakkody
Ashoka Rathnatilake
Ashoka Rathnatilake

A crater three and half feet by six feet was seen in front of the factory. All window panels, the ceiling and electrical wiring systems were damaged.

The blast was one of the series of mysterious bomb explosions which have escalated during the past few months causing extensive damage to telecommunication exchanges and electricity transformers in various parts of the country.

The latest explosion in the tea factory caused concern not only among the plantation companies, but also in the Government as all indications were that economic targets were being hit.

A Police team led by Hatton Headquarters Inspector A.M. Weerakkody was on the scene within 15 minutes. All checkpoints were alerted and the area was cordoned off. Eight persons including the watcher of Shannon estate and two Sinhalese who did not have proper identification papers were being questioned by police. The following day sniffer dogs were brought in and they proceeded upto the rail track - one kilo metre from the scene of the incident. There the dogs had lost track.

Investigations were continuing but Police are yet to identify any group or persons involved in the incident.

Within the estate, the workers were shocked and saddened by the incident. Some cried as they looked at their damaged factory while others cursed those responsible for the blast.

'That Monday was a day of mourning to the workers in the estate, but the following day they returned to work knowing very well that work at the estate should go on," Mr. Rathnatilake said. Factory Officer, Claude Fernandez who was in his quarters adjoining the factory premises said, "I was woken up with the sound of the explosion.

I thought a transformer had been attacked, because such things were happening all over.We had taken special steps to protect the transformer by lighting up the area. It took some time to realise that the explosion was from the factory," he said. The incident prompted Police Superintendent Wasantha Meegoda to summon the Estate Managers for a meeting to urgently review the security situation in estates. At a three and a half hour meeting at the SP's office detailed instructions were given to the Managers to tighten security on estates.

They were told to close all unauthorised routes through estates, improve lighting systems, keep track on outsiders who enter the estate, and set up vigilance committees.

Police were not sure whether the attack was by two persons or by a bigger group since the barbed-wire fence had been cut off at another place also.

Police believe the plan of the attackers was to get the factory opened to cause more damage to it by placing the bomb somewhere in the middle of the building. Inspector Weerakkody told 'The Sunday Times' soon after the incident all hospitals around the area were checked as they had noticed a blood patch close to the location from where the two suspects escaped.

The injury was believed to have been caused when they were attacked with stones by the estate workers.

"We went to the extent of checking hospitals in Kandy and Peradeniya. We also checked the trains to see whether they had escaped by rail."

The attack on the tea estate has caused concern among traders and long-time residents in the area. They are aware that if the plantation sector is under threat there could be a breakdown in the economy.

"We believe those attacking the estates and transformers were aiming at economic targets. If more estates are targeted our business will be affected, so will the lives of people who depend on estates for a living," trader Victor Perera said. Earlier two transformers were blasted in the Hatton town and the damage was estimated at Rs 800,000.

Police were not willing to speculate on the identity of the group or persons responsible for the Monday's tea factory explosion, but Inspector Weerakkody pointed out there have been former members of rebel groups in the estate sector and Police were keeping a close watch on them.

"It is too early for us to comment whether it is a terrorist organisation, or a group wanting to destabilize the Government," he said.

Police investigating the series of bomb explosions at electricity transformers and Telecommunication exchanges have not been able to come up with a clear answer about the group responsible for the incidents.

The explosions have not only caused economic losses, but also disrupted life in the areas by cutting off electricity supplies or telephone lines for several days before replacements are made or repairs done.

So far the Ceylon Electricity Board has been able to replace all transformers damaged, but questions are being raised whether the Board would be able to keep up to the pace of replacing transformers at the rate they are being damaged. Within the past two weeks four transformers in the Gampaha, Ragama, Kadawatha and Dehiwala areas were damaged while a private telephone exchange was blasted at Kadawate.

Most of the transformers have been damaged by placing small quantities of explosives or by draining off the fuel which rapidly increases the temperature and sets off the explosion.

Telecommunication and Electricity authorities have urged the Government to provide more security for their installations.

But with security commitments in the north it is unlikely that the Government would be able to fully meet their security requirements.


Germany's bid to crack down on immigrants

By Frederica Jansz

Despite the German embassy in Colombo maintaining that some 60,330 Sri Lankan refugees in Germany of whom only 12% are legitimate, the balance they maintain are seeking asylum on bogus grounds, German authorities speaking to 'The Sunday Times' conceded their Government is facing a major problem to send back such an overwhelming number of Sri Lankans.

Germany, in a bid to crack down on the number of illegal Sri Lankan immigrants gaining entry has warned that the Federal Parliament will soon withdraw social benefits from these refugees.

Shiploads of Sri Lankans who gain illegal entry into Germany, have caused major concern for German authorities who say they are mystified at the extent of human smuggling which is carried on at massive commercial scale.

People who are in the human smuggling business in Sri Lanka, not necessarily Lankan nationals, take very large amounts of money which have to be paid by the immigrants. German authorities assert that it is estimated that on an average Sri Lankans illegally entering Germany pay 20,000 Deutsche Marks. (Sri Lankan Rs. 7,36, 000) They travel via a third country, through either South East Asia, the former Soviet Union or West Africa, until they reach Germany.

Some 150 Lankans were repatriated in 1997 from Germany. This is a very small percentage in comparison to the large numbers of Lankan asylum seekers in Germany, of whom a majority are Tamil.

This is mainly due to the very long and difficult procedure involved in repatriation of illegal immigrants, German authorities said.

The Sunday Times was told that Lankan asylum seekers entering Germany illegally often enter with a passport which is either destroyed or sent back through an unofficial network for yet another Lankan to cross the border illegally into Germany. One passport can bring in several illegal immigrants as it is sent back to Sri Lanka and the photograph replaced before the next person is smuggled out into foreign climes.

Due to the vast advantages of the social, financial and economic benefits in Germany, once Lankans gain entry they are reluctant to return home.

minus any legal documentation, which on arrival sometimes is destroyed by the immigrants, or reported lost. Sri Lankan asylum seekers who arrive in Germany intend to stay there as long as it is possible.

The administrative and legal process in Germany takes time to first ascertain the person's identity, recover the relevant documents and seek a fresh passport from the Lankan Embassy in Bonn, before those not deemed fit for asylum are sent back to Colombo.

German authorities say that when it concerns thousands of asylum seekers it costs a lot of time and involves procedure which is a huge expense for the government to bear.

The German government spends million Deutsche Marks a year on average, for 5000 Lankans, which is the estimated amount of illegal entries into Germany each year.

This amount includes fees for lawyers, social, health and security benefits. It is further estimated that the German government spends annually 45,000 Deutsche Marks per refugee.

This amount is calculated in the overall balance. Hence only a small percentage of this sum would be handed out to the individual.

Lankan asylum seekers coming to Germany live not in refugee camps but in normal houses. They are allocated to different cities all over Germany. The highest concentration of Lankan nationals, an estimated 27,000, live primarily in North Rhine Westphalia.

The Sunday Times was told that most Sri Lankan refugees enter Germany without a penny in their pockets and so the German government is then responsible for the welfare of these person or persons.

Lankan asylum seekers into Germany dates back 18 years. Many of these people sought asylum for humanitarian and political reasons. The German Embassy in Colombo says out of the 60,330 Sri Lankans in Germany a majority are Tamil. A small number have qualified as legitimate cases for political asylum on humanitarian grounds.

Most of the Sri Lankans entering Germany illegally are seeking greener pastures, and not as a result of having suffered political persecution back in Sri Lanka. German legislation is such that when an immigrant arrives seeking asylum the German authorities need to study the case comprehensively which is a long and arduous procedure, until a final decision is made which means their claim for asylum is either recognized or they are sent back to Sri Lanka.

The number of Sri Lankan nationals in Germany in 1978 was 1,200 people. By 1992 there were 43,900. It drastically rose during the 1980s, due to the political turmoil in Sri Lanka.

Authorities say the vast majority of Sri Lankans seeking political asylum in Germany are not valid.

'German authorities suspect that fund raising for humanitarian assistance back in Lanka is conducted by Lankans living in Germany. How much of these funds are channeled for the LTTE is not known.

The Sunday Times discovered however that the LTTE's main propaganda office operates out of Germany at T.C.G. Postfach 340251 51624 Gummersbach - Germany. This office is not registered offcially, but is a front for the LTTE to operate out of Germany.

There have been two cases where German authorities tried to pursue a complaint made by two Lankan Tamils that money was being forcibly extorted from them. However when the case came to court in Germany, the two Lankans denied that money was being extorted from them and said they could not remember if they had been forced to donate money to the LTTE or not.

Similar to Britain, Norway and other Scandinavian countries, Sri Lankans living in Germany generally follow the law of the country. As a result, German authorities say they cannot prosecute any Lankan individual or organization, even if they suspect the LTTE are active and are fund raising in order to continue the fight for a separate state back in Sri Lanka.

Uptodate there has been no proof that fund raising is taking place in Germany for the benefit of the LTTE. Unlike in the United States, Germany has no legislation to ban a supposed terrorist organization unless such a group commits a criminal offence on German territory.

The Sri Lankan government has made an international request to ban the LTTE, as they are concerned in cutting off the amount of foreign fund-raising that contributes to sustaining the LTTE's battle for Eelam in Sri Lanka.

Germany say they would be happy to ban the LTTE if Sri Lankan authorities can provide proof that Sri Lankans living in Germany are engaged in illegal activity towards raising funds for the LTTE in Sri Lanka.

Germany has signed the United Nations Convention against terrorist bombings in other countries but has not adopted the legislation as domestic law.

Maintaining Germany does recognize the LTTE as a terrorist organization, political asylum in Germany can be granted according to German law if people are politically prosecuted or suffer human rights violations. Then it is immaterial of whether they belong to the LTTE or not.

There have been numerous cases where many a Sri Lankan Tamil has admitted they belonged to the LTTE, but after a period of time realized it was a terrorist organization and desired to separate themselves from the Tigers, but in doing so cannot continue to live in Sri Lanka.

Such people are caught up by both sides involved in the conflict. The LTTE would seek out such persons as well as the Sri Lankan government, if it was ascertained that such a person had previous links with the LTTE.

This then would be a prima facie case that could be possibly granted political asylum in Germany.

Sri Lankans who are repatriated when they return to Sri Lanka are usually questioned by Sri Lankan authorities according to Sri Lankan security regulations at the airport, as to where they come from and if they have any connections to the LTTE. After Sri Lankan authorities are satisfied they are released.

In mid 1997 there were 5,600 Lankans who were legally required to leave Germany. This however is a slow and difficult process for German authorities as people cannot be forcibly gathered and put back on a plane to Sri Lanka .

Such large numbers can hardly be dealt with in practice smoothly.

German authorities say the situation at present in Sri Lanka is conducive to send back Lankans. They assert that given the fact that the overall human rights situation has improved and normal life is feasible in Sri Lanka, repatriated Sri Lankan Tamils could even return to Jaffna.


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