Sri Lankans need not flee to Australia: High Commissioner Thisara Samarasinghe
Tuesday, 31 December 2013 00:36
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WAGGA: Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in Australia Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe says no longer there is a reason for Sri Lankans to flee to Australia, as the island nation is moving towards reconciliation, an Australian media report said.
Speaking to The Daily Advertiser at a Sri Lankan community event in Wagga, where about 100 Sri Lankan families live, the former Navy Commander of Sri Lanka has said that the civil war and its fallout has been “fully settled”.
“Terrorism was defeated in Sri Lanka against terrorists. But they are trying to accuse Sri Lanka of various wrongdoings which are not true,” Admiral Samarasinghe was quoted as saying.
“Sri Lankans need not come to Australia anymore as asylum seekers or refugees. They are not being persecuted,” he added.
Admiral Samarasinghe said the Sri Lankans living in Australia came looking for a better life and they are very responsible and disciplined citizens with no trouble.
a“Sri Lankans have deep roots in Australia,” he said. “For Sri Lanka, Australia is a second home.”
According to the report most Sri Lankans living in Wagga are employed in education and health service sectors.
Admiral Samarasinghe has noted that education is a major link between Sri Lanka and Australia and a lot of Sri Lankan students are coming to Australia.
“With the new Colombo Plan, there will now even be Australian students going to Sri Lanka,” the Sri Lankan High Commissioner has pointed out.
“This is a link that will flourish. We are expecting our relationship to go from strength to strength,” Admiral Samarasinghe has noted.
