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Lankans in Myanmar seek repatriation

31 Mar 2021

A group of 33 Sri Lankans living in Myanmar, which is currently mired in a grave and increasingly deadly political conflict, has requested to be repatriated to Sri Lanka owing to the precarious and chaotic country situation, The Morning learnt. Foreign Ministry sources told The Morning that approximately 206 Sri Lankans are currently residing in Myanmar, out of which 33 have made requests to be repatriated. However, The Morning received no reply to its query made from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Myanmar as to whether they would expedite the repatriation process, considering the worsening human rights situation in the country. A power grab by the Myanmar military and the detention of the country’s elected civilian leadership of Aung San Suu Kyi plunged Myanmar into chaos in early February, leading to widespread global condemnation. For three weeks since then, huge crowds have taken to the streets across the country, calling for Aung San Suu Kyi’s release and the restoration of civilian rule. At the United Nations (UN) Special Session on the military coup, the Myanmar UN Envoy Kyaw Moe Tun appealed to the international community to actively oppose the coup. He was seen at the session giving a three-finger salute to the protestors in his home country, who are currently denouncing the coup. Last month, 12 Sri Lankan fishermen in two vessels were also detained by the Myanmar authorities. On 27 March, Myanmar saw the deadliest day of violence since the power grab, with reports of 114 killed. This included seven children, one as young as five. The recently concluded UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Session adopted a resolution on Myanmar by consensus, urging the UN Security Council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC).


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