Campbell Clark
Ottawa — From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
Last updated on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009 03:00AM EDT
Canada's official position is that Myanmar is run by an "odious regime." But two cabinet ministers had to intervene at the 11th hour to stop a failed refugee claimant from being shipped back there.
Now, politicians, activists and lawyers are wondering why Canada - which does not deport people to countries like Zimbabwe or Haiti - would even consider sending people into the hands of the famously repressive junta in Myanmar, formerly Burma.
"The regime there is so irrational and vindictive that it's not safe to send anyone back there," said Liberal MP Larry Bagnell, chairman of the multiparty Parliamentary Friends of Burma.
Nay Myo Hein, 25, was about to be returned to Myanmar because the Immigration and Refugee Board did not believe his claim that he was abducted at 12 and forced into service as a child soldier.
The Canada Border Services Agency, and then a Federal Court judge, ruled that despite his involvement in protests against the Myanmar regime while living in Saskatoon since 2007, he would not be in danger if sent home.
On the weekend, two federal cabinet ministers - both vocal critics of the Myanmar regime - intervened: Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan halted the deportation, and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney gave Nay Myo Hein a permit to stay in Canada.
They judged that even if he wasn't a child soldier, his involvement in protests in Canada against the junta would place him in jeopardy if he were sent home.
"In taking these steps, our Conservative government is protecting one of the lucky few who have managed to escape the nightmare that is Burma," said Mr. Kenney's spokesman, Alykhan Velshi.
Ottawa — From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
Last updated on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009 03:00AM EDT
Canada's official position is that Myanmar is run by an "odious regime." But two cabinet ministers had to intervene at the 11th hour to stop a failed refugee claimant from being shipped back there.
Now, politicians, activists and lawyers are wondering why Canada - which does not deport people to countries like Zimbabwe or Haiti - would even consider sending people into the hands of the famously repressive junta in Myanmar, formerly Burma.
"The regime there is so irrational and vindictive that it's not safe to send anyone back there," said Liberal MP Larry Bagnell, chairman of the multiparty Parliamentary Friends of Burma.
Nay Myo Hein, 25, was about to be returned to Myanmar because the Immigration and Refugee Board did not believe his claim that he was abducted at 12 and forced into service as a child soldier.
The Canada Border Services Agency, and then a Federal Court judge, ruled that despite his involvement in protests against the Myanmar regime while living in Saskatoon since 2007, he would not be in danger if sent home.
On the weekend, two federal cabinet ministers - both vocal critics of the Myanmar regime - intervened: Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan halted the deportation, and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney gave Nay Myo Hein a permit to stay in Canada.
They judged that even if he wasn't a child soldier, his involvement in protests in Canada against the junta would place him in jeopardy if he were sent home.
"In taking these steps, our Conservative government is protecting one of the lucky few who have managed to escape the nightmare that is Burma," said Mr. Kenney's spokesman, Alykhan Velshi.
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