The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake
Bimal Rathnayake urged that the issue of Rohingya refugees be handled humanely and without partisan politicization, noting Sri Lanka’s own experience with displacement during the war and political exile. He said refugee claims should be addressed through lawful screening procedures rather than automatic blanket recognition, consistent with domestic and international obligations. He stated that the Government would provide maximum assistance within the applicable legal framework.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I thank Hon. Harsha de Silva for framing this beyond a single community. People’s suffering must not be weaponized. Sri Lanka’s Tamil population was displaced by war; many JVP comrades fled abroad. We have lived experience with refugees.
¶ 02 Let us be humane, and also clear: countries party to conventions still run screening camps; immediate blanket refugee status is not the norm. Do not paint this with partisan colours. We will act humanely and also under our law. It is unfair to exploit Rohingya suffering for political point-scoring. We will assist to the maximum within domestic and international law.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Thursday, 23 January 2025 ·No. 1738314169039521 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 23 January 2025. No. 1738314169039521. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/10625