Eight Sri Lankans who were detained by the Indonesian authorities were due to arrive to the country yesterday and re-unite with their families.
Four of them are among the 55 Sri Lankans who illegally landed in Aceh in May 2009 in their attempt to enter Australia after their boat started leaking in bad weather. The other four migrants were also detained by Indonesian authorities in 2007 and 2008.
A counsellor proceeded to Aceh province, with the approval of the Sri Lanka Government and its ambassador Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Nanda Mallawarachchi, to convince the migrants to return to the country since the internal conflict had come to an end.
The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Jakarta believes that more Lankan migrants now in Indonesia would follow suit. |
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