{"id":118478,"date":"2014-01-16T10:59:25","date_gmt":"2014-01-16T05:29:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=118478"},"modified":"2014-01-25T21:00:33","modified_gmt":"2014-01-25T15:30:33","slug":"canadian-mp-reveals-she-was-followed-and-interrogated-while-in-sri-lanka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/canadian-mp-reveals-she-was-followed-and-interrogated-while-in-sri-lanka\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian MP Reveals She Was Followed And Interrogated While In Sri Lanka"},"content":{"rendered":"

Canada’s New Democrat Party MP Rathika Sitsabaiesan<\/span><\/a> has revealed to the Toronto Star<\/span><\/a> that she had been followed by men in motorbikes during her recent visit to the North of Sri Lanka and interrogated in Jaffna by Immigration officials.<\/p>\n

Sitsabaiesan, giving her first interview since her return to Canada following her trip to Sri Lanka, said it was her hired driver who first noticed they were being followed by men in motorbikes.<\/p>\n

\"Rathika<\/a>

Rathika Sitsabaiesan<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI was slow to catch on, because I didn\u2019t expect it, I wasn\u2019t used to it,\u201d Sitsabaiesan told the Star. \u201cAnd then the next day it happened, and we were like \u2018Oh, this is a constant thing.\u2019 And then outside my hotel, they would just hang out and give word when I left.\u201d<\/p>\n

On New Year\u2019s Eve, Sitsabaiesan said she visited an orphanage she was considering supporting. While she toured one of its three buildings, the employee giving the tour received a phone call that a group of people had arrived at the main entrance with a warrant for Sitsabaiesan\u2019s arrest, the MP told the Toronto Star.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were like, \u2018Holy wow, they actually showed up.\u2019 And there was no reason for them to show up, because there was no reason for them to have an arrest warrant,\u201d Sitsabaiesan said.<\/p>\n

She said she wasn\u2019t about to get arrested in front of the orphanage \u2014 she felt she had done nothing wrong in visiting family, her grandfather\u2019s and mother\u2019s old houses, and her family\u2019s former store. So she slipped away unnoticed, returned to her nearby hotel and changed rooms.<\/p>\n

She had immediately called the Canadian High Commission, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair and the party\u2019s foreign affairs critic, Paul Dewar.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a few hours of me staying in my hotel room and not even opening the curtain, because I didn\u2019t want anyone to know I was in there,\u201d Sitsabaiesan said. \u201cJust waiting to get word from the high commission whether there is a real arrest warrant or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was that night that a number of news reports said she had been placed under house arrest. Sitsabaiesan said she had not spoken to any media outlets, and did not know the origin of that story.<\/p>\n

After consulting with four law enforcement agencies \u2014 local police, the criminal and terrorism intelligence divisions, and immigration authorities \u2014 Sitsabaiesan said the high commission found there was no warrant. Only then did she feel safe enough to leave her hotel.<\/p>\n

The next day, she said, government officials caught up with her while at a factory owned by a friend\u2019s family member.<\/p>\n

The factory trip was not planned \u2014 Sitsabaiesan said she spilled something on her shirt and needed a place to change along the road \u2014 but three men identifying themselves as immigration officers found her there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey wanted a space where it was private and nobody else was allowed in. They were standing in the doorway, and it was me and these three men,\u201dSitsabaiesan told the Star<\/p>\n

\u201cThey had a list of exactly what I\u2019ve been doing, and they go, \u2018You did this, you did that, you met with this person, you did this, who is this person, why, give me names, give me contacts, give me this and that.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

The MP said she had been intimidated by the line of questioning, but after the experience the day before, was also conscious of her privileges as a Canadian and as a Member of parliament.<\/p>\n

\u201cEventually, the controller general of immigration was on the phone saying, \u2018You know, we\u2019re trying to protect you and we\u2019re looking out for your best interests by following you,\u2019 \u201d Sitsabaiesan said..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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