Nearly 1,000 asylum seekers return home

The recent return of 13 Sri Lankan asylum seekers who voluntarily flew home to Colombo brings the total number of returned Sri Lankans to almost 1,000 since August last year, the Australian High Commission said in a release yesterday.

A total of 942 Sri Lankan asylum seekers have returned, both voluntarily and involuntarily, after they either failed to engage Australia’s protection obligations, or voluntarily withdrew from the asylum seeker process after arriving unlawfully in Australia by boat, the release said.

The release added: “There have been 213 voluntary returns, representing those who abandoned their claims for asylum, demonstrating clearly there is no advantage engaging with people smugglers. “People in a regional processing centre or immigration detention facility can request their return at any time.

The most recent group of involuntary returnees, totaling 19, arrived in Sri Lanka on January 17. Meanwhile, transfers of asylum seekers to regional processing facilities in Nauru and Papua New Guinea continue.

The facilities were established following the Australian government’s policy announcements on August 13, 2012.

“In the latest transfer to Nauru, two Sri Lankans joined a group of 30 men on January 22 who will remain there while their claims are processed.