authorities bear any ill-will towards the petitioner personally or suspect him
of being involved with the LTTE.
4.10 The State party further submits that the petitioner's statement that due
to the brevity of the procedure at the application centre he was unable to
discuss his scars, does not detract from the correctness of the decision on the
application for asylum. It is of the opinion that the procedure provides
sufficient guarantees that an application for asylum will be dealt with
carefully as described from paragraphs 4.2 to 4.5 above. With respect to the
assessment of the petitioner's case, the State party submits that he prepared
for the second interview with the assistance of a legal advisor, that it was
made clear to him that he should disclose all information relevant to his
application, he was notified of the importance of the report of this interview
to the asylum procedure and informed not to withhold any information
relating to his application for asylum. During this interview, the petitioner
was specifically asked if he had scars from the maltreatment he had
undergone and he responded in the negative. The petitioner discussed the
report of the second interview with his legal advisor – which went on for
more than three hours – whereupon corrections and additions to the report
were submitted. These corrections and additions made no mention of the
alleged arrest in April 2000 or of the scars obtained as a result of
maltreatment during that arrest. Thus, the State party is of the opinion that
the petitioner was sufficiently notified of the necessity to make a complete
statement and that his asylum application was dealt with carefully at the
application centre.
4.11 Further, on the issue of the petitioner's scars, the State party is of the
view that the petitioner has not demonstrated that he was detained and
maltreated in April 2000 and that his scars are a result of this maltreatment.
These claims have not yet been corroborated by means of a medical report,
and it would not be unreasonable, the State party submits, to expect such a
report, given the duration of the petitioner's stay in the Netherlands. The
State party also points out that it has not been established that the alleged
scars, gave rise to suspicion of involvement in the LTTE during the two
alleged arrests in October 2000, and that the petitioner himself was not of
the opinion that the scars constituted a risk factor, since his alleged arrest
and maltreatment in April 2000 were not the reason for his departure from
Sri Lanka.
4.12 The State party also adds that in a letter, dated 1 February 2001, the
petitioner was given an opportunity to submit another application for
asylum, in which the statements regarding his arrest in April 2000 could
have been included. He would have been allowed to remain in the
Netherlands pending the results of this application. The petitioner did not
make use of this opportunity.