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| Sunday, 5 February 2006 |
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Re-entry ban to Australia for Game's visa abusers by Clifford Landers reporting from Australia Melbourne, Saturday - Sri Lanka's athletes and officials ought to take notice of the warning extended internationally by immigration authorities of a three-year re-entering ban to Australia if they violate Commonwealth Games visa restrictions including overstay. Already over 8,000 Special Games visas have been issued for coaches, competitors, team managers, officials, sponsors, media and broadcasters from various parts of the world but due to visa restriction abused by a dozen of Sierre Leone when they disappeared during the 2002 Games in Manchester, England and many other incidents which also involved Sri Lankans during other events, authorities will be applying strict measures and threatening to trace and crackdown on offenders. It is reported that over 80 international participants had overstayed visas after the 2000 Sydney Olympics with yet a handful of cases to be resolved. The visas for the Melbourne Games have been issued valid from February 15 until April 26, exactly one month after the closing ceremony and anyone overstaying this expiry date will have to face the consequences. Immigration Department spokesman Clayton Boundey had said that he did not anticipate a repeat of the Manchester furore claiming that "The overstay rate for the Sydney Olympics was very small which was less than one per cent and it is not expected that the Commonwealth Games will be any different." "The department works closely with M2006 to ensure that Games teams are well aware of our entry arrangements and requirements", he said. World Vision chief executive Tim Costello who was in Sri Lanka after the 2004 Tsunami tragedy said the Games would include participants from some of the world's poorest nations and therefore, "we should have great concern for the profound poverty of their home context," he said.
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