Illegal migration to Australia:

More Lankans opt to return home

by Ranil Wijayapala

A second batch of 28 Sri Lankans who had sought asylum in Australia returned home yesterday as Australian authorities started sending asylum seekers in Christmas Island and the mainland to Nauru or Papua New Guinea's Manus Island under the revised policy of 'offshore processing' of asylum seekers' claims.

The 28 people who opted to return Sri Lanka arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport around 11 a.m. yesterday on a chartered flight from Australia, Immigration and Emigration Controller Chulananda Perera told the Sunday Observer.

He said Immigration officials received them at the airport after their Sri Lankan nationality was checked by officials.

"The people arriving voluntarily here undergo speedy clearance at the airport without any problem. After clearance from immigration officers, they are handed over to the CID and State Intelligence Service and they can leave quickly after providing a statement, he said.He said among those who voluntarily returned are 23 Sinhalese, three Tamils, a Muslim and a Burgher.

Australian Immigration Minister Chris Bowen had announced that the group of voluntary returnees consists of people who arrived in Australia both before and after new regional processing arrangements were announced and include two from Nauru, 20 from Christmas Island and six from mainland facilities including Villawood in NSW and Yongah Hill in Western Australia."Regular transfers to Nauru and more Sri Lankans returning home are further proof that people smugglers only sell lies and make false promises about what awaits people in Australia," Bowen said in a statement.

The Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) on Friday announced the successful transfer of the fifth group of irregular maritime arrivals to Nauru - the first transfer to depart from the mainland after setting off from Darwin.

Sri Lanka's High Commissioner in Australia Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe told the Sunday Observer that the Sri Lanka High Commission has been lobbying for quick and unbiased assessment of false claims and visible repatriation as Sri Lanka is perfectly safe now.

"The Sri Lanka High Commission in Canberra, on being requested by the Australian Immigration, issues emergency travel documents to facilitate the repatriation process.

This is done within hours of receipt of the requests at the High Commission to avoid any delay in repatriation," he added.He said many more voluntary and involuntary repatriations are expected in the coming weeks as Australian authorities take a firm stand on false asylum seekers.