Influential monks have asked the govt. to deny them refuge

Amid protests by sections of the island’s influential Buddhist monks, who urged Sri Lanka not to accept Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims as refugees, the government has said it would not keep Rohingya asylum-seekers for long. Denying any mass influx of Rohingya Muslims into Sri Lanka, State Minister of Foreign Affairs Wasantha Senanayake said that even if some of them had managed to land on Sri Lankan shores, it was, in all likelihood, in small numbers — of not more than 20-25 people.

“They will either be sent back to Myanmar as the situation improves [there] or [we] will send them to another country that matches with their way of living. We will not be keeping them for long,” Mr. Senanayake told the state-run Daily News on Monday.

30 from Myanmar

According to information provided by the UNHCR office here, nearly 30 refugees and asylum-seekers from Myanmar are presently in Sri Lanka, among the more than 1,000 from different countries.

Mr. Senanayake’s remarks came days after some monks held a protest in Colombo. Hard-liners from the Buddhist clergy in Sri Lanka and Myanmar have in the past vowed to work together to protect their common religion. In 2014, controversial Buddhist monk from Myanmar Ashin Wirathu, accused of leading an anti-Muslim movement in Burma, had pledged support to the Bodu Bala Sena (Buddhist Power Force), also accused of hate speech and carrying out anti-Muslim attacks.

Over the last few years, a series of violent attacks targeting Sri Lanka’s Muslims, who make up 10% of the population, have sparked international concerns over perceived religious intolerance in the country.

Meanwhile, some news reports said that Sri Lanka has suspended issuing visa-on-arrival to travellers from Myanmar, fearing the possible arrival of more refugees. However, Sri Lanka’s Immigration Department has denied the reports.