Saturday,02nd August 2014From : http://news.kuwaittimes.net/pdf/2014/aug/02/p35.pdf ...
Author Archives: MFA User
Response to Inquiries on Asylum Seekers
The Ministry of External Affairs has received a number of inquiries on the return of individual asylum seekers, mainly of Pakistan origin.
Sri Lanka’s territory has been used by those seeking asylum for over a decade. However, the asylum seeker/refugee population in Sri Lanka witnessed a dramatic 700 per cent increase during the period 2013-14 and as at 30 June 2014, there are 1562 asylum seekers and 308 refugees. Investigations have revealed that the sudden increase in the number of asylum seekers in Sri Lanka was as a result of people falling victim to commercially driven human trafficking networks which abuse the liberal visa policy in place in the country exacerbated by a sharp increase in the numbers resettled in third countries in 2012. Regrettably, the process of resettlement slowed down considerably in 2013/14. It is therefore questionable whether they have a legitimate claim to seek asylum.
The influx of asylum seekers and their tendency not to have an established place of residence has resulted in serious law & order, security, as well as health related issues for the authorities. In fact, in April 2014, ten cases of malaria were detected among these asylum seekers. This detection was made at a time when Sri Lanka, having achieved zero indigenous cases of malaria for the past several years, was under consideration for obtaining WHO certification.
Departing Sri Lankan Ambassador meets German Federal Chancellor and Federal Foreign Minister
H.E. Ambassador Sarath Kongahage has met the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dr. Angela Merkel, during the annual reception for the diplomatic community in Berlin and informed her about the complet ...
Chinese company in Sri Lanka holds countrywide art competition
Monday, 28th July 2014 A Chinese company engaged in one of the largest projects in Sri Lanka has organized an all-island art competition in the country involving over 200 students, an official said Monday. China Machine ...
High Commissioner Professor Sudharshan Seneviratne Presents Credentials to the President of India
Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India, Prof. Sudharshan Seneviratne presented his credentials to the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, on 31st July 2014. At a cordial meeti ...
GL Appreciates Japan’s Constructive Engagement with Sri Lanka
During his discussions with the Japanese Parliamentary delegation which called on him at the Ministry on Friday, 1st August 2014 Professor G.L.Peiris, Minister of External Affairs, expressed appreciation of Japan’s app ...
Media Release
The attention of the Ministry of External Affairs has been drawn to a media statement issued by the US Embassy on 28th July expressing concerns on media freedom in Sri Lanka. The statement refers to incidents surrounding the cancellation by the organizers, of a training organized for Jaffna based journalists, funded by the US government through Rights Now Collective for Democracy, which is registered under the Companies Act.
The basis for such training programmes to be funded through the US Embassy is unclear, particularly when the target group has been limited to one geographical region and ethnic group. It is also unfortunate that the Embassy statement chose to ignore the responses provided by the Government following queries raised over the weekend on this issue by US government officials in a spirit of reciprocal engagement, both in Colombo and in Washington D.C.
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