Hundreds of people have protested in the Swiss capital Bern against the potential repatriation of asylum seekers to Sri Lanka.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch and agencies
Protestors called for a rethink of a decision in force since March 1, saying the human rights situation in Sri Lanka remained precarious.
At the start of the year, the Federal Migration Office said the situation in the country had improved and decided that most asylum seekers could return to the north and east of the country following the end of civil war.
But the Swiss Council of Eelam Tamils who organised Saturday’s demonstration fear Tamils will be arrested and tortured on their return to the country.
They said refugees should only be sent back if the Sri Lankan government authorises an international inquiry into alleged war crimes and ends the emergency rule. The International Committee of the Red Cross should also be given access to all political prisoners, they said.
The Federal Migration Office said there were 2,100 Sri Lankans whose asylum applications were pending in Switzerland by the end of last year.
Sri Lankans are one of the biggest migrant groups in Switzerland. There were 27,721 people of Sri Lankan origin in the country at the end of 2008. Since 1973 more than 11,000 Sri Lankans have acquired Swiss citizenship.
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Asylum requests drop for second straight year
This content was published on
Last year federal authorities received requests from 15,567 people, a 2.7 per cent decrease from 2009. This is the second year in a row the number has dropped. Of those requests, 3,449 people were granted asylum in 2010. That represents a higher percentage of success among all applicants than in the previous year because quotas…
This content was published on
She announced that Switzerland will take in 35 refugees from a United Nations camp on the border between Iraq and Syria in the spirit of the country’s longstanding humanitarian tradition. Sommaruga, who took up her post at the head of the justice and police ministry last October, added she was aware that an election year…
This content was published on
There are some 43,000 Sri Lankan Tamils living in Switzerland; this figure does not include those who have already obtained Swiss citizenship. Fleeing the civil war at home, they came here in the 1980s and 1990s. The Tamils have integrated well into Swiss society – at least superficially. They have shown themselves to be hardworking…
This content was published on
Last week the Federal Criminal Police searched 23 sites in cantons Basel City, Bern, Fribourg, Geneva, Graubünden, Lucerne, Solothurn, St Gallen, Vaud and Zurich. The sting was carried out in connection with an investigation dating back to May 2009, when several people of Tamil origin were accused of extortion, forgery, money laundering and membership in…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.