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20 Sri Lankans rescued from Myanmar undergoing screening process in Thailand
Colombo, August 16 (Daily Mirror) - The 20 Sri Lankans, who were stranded in Myanmar as victims of human trafficking and rescued earlier this week, are undergoing a screening process in Thailand before their expected repatriation to Sri Lanka, the Foreign Ministry said today.
They were rescued and brought to Mae Sot, Thailand, where they are being processed by Thai immigration officials.
While expressing his delight at the rescue of this contingent, State Minister of Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya said it remains focussed on the release of another group of 34 Sri Lankans who are being held in the Myawaddy area of Myanmar, having been lured into cybercriminal operations on the pretext of being offered foreign employment.
“Our next job is to secure their release," State Minister of Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya said, adding, “The problem does not end here. We need to stop people being deceived (by false employment agents) and going to Myanmar with the hope of employment. Recently, five others have gone via Dubai and our efforts will be in vain if more keep going.”
Though the process of repatriation has no definite timeline, Sri Lankan Ambassador to Thailand Wijayanthi Edirisinghe said that all 20 individuals were in good health.
“They are under a screening process. After this screening process, they will handover these 20 Sri Lankans to the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security. They will then go through the National Referral Mechanism, under which we can work with the International Organisation for Migration to bring them back to Sri Lanka,” she said.
“It is unclear how long this process will take, but after this screening they will inform us how to work with the IOM, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs and their Ministry of Social Development, to bring them back to Sri Lanka,” Edirisinghe added.
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