The United Nations yesterday raised concern for the safety of Rohingya Muslim asylum seekers in Sri Lanka after extremist Buddhist monks and hardline nationalists forced them to flee a U.N. shelter in the capital Colombo.
The refugees, who were detained in April along with two suspected Indian human traffickers in a boat off Sri Lanka’s coast, are now at the Boosa camp to ensure their security after the incident in the capital.
In Tuesday’s incident, the Sri Lankan monks and nationalists stoned the shelter, prompting its 31 Rohingya occupants - mainly women and children - to flee for their own safety, witnesses said. No injuries were reported.
In a statement, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said the incident was alarming, saying the refugees had been victims of violence and persecution in Myanmar, from which some 422,000 Rohingya have fled to nearby Bangladesh over the past month.
“UNHCR emphasizes that (the) refugees ... need international protection and assistance. UNHCR urges the public and all those concerned with refugees to continue extending protection and to show empathy for civilians fleeing persecution and violence.”
It said the Rohingya had been staying in Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka with the Colombo government’s approval and UNHCR was providing assistance “until longer-term solutions can be found”.
The Rohingya group fled Myanmar in 2012 and lived in India as refugees for nearly five years before trying to migrate illegally to Sri Lanka, a lawyer representing them told Reuters.
You can share this post!
Content
Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala told Parliament today that the suspect in the rape of a lady doctor at the Anuradhapura teaching hospital has been identified as an army deserter and he will be apprehended shortly.
Police have arrested the suspect connected to the sexual assault on a female doctor at the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital today morning in Galnewa.
The Dutch Public Prosecutor suspects two companies of paying bribes in the construction of hospitals in Sri Lanka, according to an investigation by FD, the Dutch financial newspaper.
The Minister of Power, Kumara Jayakody, stated that in the future, internationally funded projects, such as power projects, will only be carried out through government-to-government (G2G) agreements and competitive procurement.
The Government today tabled in the House the Report of the Commission to Inquiry into the Establishment and Maintenance of Unlawful Places of Detention and Torture Chambers in the Batalanda Housing Scheme.
Israel, a major player in the global diamond and jewellery trade, has invited Sri Lankan gem and jewellery businessmen and designers to collaborate with Israeli diamond traders.
Leave Comments