By Jason Warick, Saskatoon StarPhoenixAugust 18, 2009
SASKATOON — A former child soldier escaped deportation from Saskatchewan to Myanmar over the weekend due to the last-minute intervention of a pair of federal government ministers — but more than a dozen others facing the same fate have not been so fortunate.
An official with the Canadian Border Services Agency has told the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that 13 refugee claimants over the past five years have been deported to Myanmar, also known as Burma.
In an e-mail Monday, Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan said a blanket suspension of deportations to Burma is “not warranted.”
The number deported alarmed the group Canadian Friends of Burma, which said it was not aware anyone was being sent back to live under a military regime repeatedly condemned by Canada and other nations.
“We had no idea. Hearing that is quite shocking, quite disturbing,” board member Kevin McLeod said.
“We don’t think anyone should be deported to Burma. It is an arbitrary, unfair place.”
Nay Myo Hein says he was coerced into the Burmese military at age 12, but had no appetite for the work and eventually fled the country.
He escaped to Canada three years ago and was living in Saskatoon, but had his appeal for refugee status rejected by three separate hearings. He was set to be deported Tuesday, before federal Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan personally reviewed his case and intervened.
On Sunday, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney said it would not be safe to send Hein back to Burma, in part because of the large amounts of publicity the case generated. The regime may have taken note and targeted him because of it, Kenney said.
“We wouldn’t want to return someone to face persecution or punishment. It is a chance we were not prepared to take,” Kenney said.
The Canadian Friends of Burma, Amnesty International’s Canadian section, and others, have said Hein would have been jailed, tortured or executed if returned.
Van Loan, who is responsible for the Canadian Border Services Agency, said in his e-mail the Canadian government “has been clear and consistent in condemning the Burmese regime for its repressive actions.”
Van Loan said the issue of deportation to Myanmar “is always under consideration,” but there are no plans to place the country on Canada’s “temporary suspension of removals” list.
“There are many situations where potential political persecution is not a risk. As such, a blanket temporary suspension of removals is not warranted,” Van Loan said.
“While removal of some individuals to Burma would be unsafe, those cases can be dealt with on an individual basis.”
SASKATOON — A former child soldier escaped deportation from Saskatchewan to Myanmar over the weekend due to the last-minute intervention of a pair of federal government ministers — but more than a dozen others facing the same fate have not been so fortunate.
An official with the Canadian Border Services Agency has told the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that 13 refugee claimants over the past five years have been deported to Myanmar, also known as Burma.
In an e-mail Monday, Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan said a blanket suspension of deportations to Burma is “not warranted.”
The number deported alarmed the group Canadian Friends of Burma, which said it was not aware anyone was being sent back to live under a military regime repeatedly condemned by Canada and other nations.
“We had no idea. Hearing that is quite shocking, quite disturbing,” board member Kevin McLeod said.
“We don’t think anyone should be deported to Burma. It is an arbitrary, unfair place.”
Nay Myo Hein says he was coerced into the Burmese military at age 12, but had no appetite for the work and eventually fled the country.
He escaped to Canada three years ago and was living in Saskatoon, but had his appeal for refugee status rejected by three separate hearings. He was set to be deported Tuesday, before federal Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan personally reviewed his case and intervened.
On Sunday, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney said it would not be safe to send Hein back to Burma, in part because of the large amounts of publicity the case generated. The regime may have taken note and targeted him because of it, Kenney said.
“We wouldn’t want to return someone to face persecution or punishment. It is a chance we were not prepared to take,” Kenney said.
The Canadian Friends of Burma, Amnesty International’s Canadian section, and others, have said Hein would have been jailed, tortured or executed if returned.
Van Loan, who is responsible for the Canadian Border Services Agency, said in his e-mail the Canadian government “has been clear and consistent in condemning the Burmese regime for its repressive actions.”
Van Loan said the issue of deportation to Myanmar “is always under consideration,” but there are no plans to place the country on Canada’s “temporary suspension of removals” list.
“There are many situations where potential political persecution is not a risk. As such, a blanket temporary suspension of removals is not warranted,” Van Loan said.
“While removal of some individuals to Burma would be unsafe, those cases can be dealt with on an individual basis.”
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