SJB asks govt. to secure release of 50 Lankans held by a terrorist group in Myanmar

by Saman Indrajith

The SJB in Parliament yesterday demanded to know from the government what action it would take to bring home over 50 Lankans held hostage by a Myanmar terrorist group.

Chief Opposition Whip and Kandy District MP Lakshman Kiriella said that around 56 Lankans were being illegally held in Myawaddy area.

These Lankans, who were lured with tourist visas behind the false front of lucrative job offers in the IT sector, were being held captive for more than four months. The government must intervene to rescue them, Kiriella said.

Foreign Affairs State Minister Taraka Balasuriya said those Lankans were detained in an area held by Myanmar terrorists and therefore the interventions by the government of that country were not effective. Sri Lanka could speak only to the Myanmar government and it has no intention to speak to terrorists. That matter had also been raised with Thailand Prime Minister when he visited Sri Lanka recently, he said.

Minister Balasuriya said that the government had so far secured the release of seven Sri Lankans stranded in Myanmar and would strive find ways and means of bringing the other Lankans back home. If the terrorists demanded a ransom for the release of these detained Lankans, the government could not get involved in such efforts, the minister said.