Risk of over 100,000 illegal immigrants entering country – Minister

Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala told Parliament yesterday that there is a risk of 100,000 illegal immigrants entering the country in the next few weeks.

The Minister further stated that Intelligence agencies have already reported on the arrival of those illegal immigrants.

He stated this while participating in a debate in Parliament yesterday in response to the issue raised by MP Rauff Hakeem regarding this matter during the debate.

“It has been reported that 116 illegal migrants from Myanmar have entered the country. An investigation is underway into this matter. They were caught up in this racket and have even paid money. In addition, they have paid about 50 million in their local currency. Apart from that about 80 million have been paid to the organisers in their country for transport. The Police are currently investigating this matter.

“If these people are identified as refugees, we are ready to act accordingly. Attention has been paid to their food and health facilities at this time.

“According to the investigations conducted by the Police and the Intelligence Services, there is a risk of about 100,000 such illegal immigrants arriving in Sri Lanka in the coming days.

“This issue has been identified as a social problem in our country. This is a humanitarian problem as well.If they are identified as refugees, we will provide them with the necessary humanitarian assistance in accordance with international conventions. They were not allowed to enter because the relevant authorities were dealing with their health conditions at that time. In the future, they will be allowed to go to the Human Rights Commission. Currently, there are 116 under the Immigration and Emigration Department. Twelve people have already been arrested and released later.

The post Risk of over 100,000 illegal immigrants entering country – Minister appeared first on DailyNews.