Sri Lankan asylum seekers deported
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday March 13, 2010
THE federal government has begun returning Tamil asylum seekers to Sri Lanka, amid signs the threat to minority groups there and in Afghanistan is easing.Immigration officials were preparing last night to deport three Tamils from Christmas Island to Sri Lanka. Three have already gone and more are expected to follow. The cases of 35 other asylum seekers, from a range of countries, are being reviewed.The deportations have implications for those detained on Christmas Island and could deter asylum seekers still considering coming to Australia.The repatriation of Tamils began as the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said it was reconsidering its international safety guidelines for Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, the source of most asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat.The commissioner's regional representative, Richard Towle, said the threat in Sri Lanka was easing since the civil war ended, in May. "There has been a significant number who have left the camp populations in Sri Lanka and are in the process of returning to their places and regions of origin," he said."There's a long way to go in terms of rehabilitation and dealing with humanitarian issues around demining, but it's certainly moving in the right direction, and we think any review of the guidelines [has] to reflect these positive developments."The recent presidential election would affect the decision to change guidelines, he said. UN guidelines underpin the government decisions on refugee claims.The Minister for Immigration, Chris Evans, told ABC Radio yesterday that conditions in Afghanistan had also improved but the flow of asylum seekers would not stop overnight.Former army chief's trial€” World, Page 20
© 2010 Sydney Morning Herald
Share This