Immigration Minister Scott Morrison will visit Sri Lanka next week.
Immigration Minister Scott Morrison will visit Sri Lanka next week. Photo: Alex Ellinghauseni







The Immigration Minister Scott Morrison will travel to Sri
Lanka next week amid his continuing silence on whether 203 Tamil asylum
seekers have been handed over to the Sri Lankan navy. 



Mr Morrison will visit the small island nation to attend a
commissioning ceremony for the two former Australian Customs and Border
Protection Service Bay Class patrol vessels gifted to the Sri Lankan
Government, a spokesman for Mr Morrison confirmed. 




Local Sri Lankan media have reported that he will arrive on Wednesday and hold talks with the government and defence officials. 



Dr Keheliya Rambukwella, Sri Lanka's Mass Media and
Information Minister also confirmed the visit, saying Mr Morrison would
visit Colombo to speak with the country’s foreign minister. 




But the minister remained silent on any progress that may
have been made with the two asylum-seeker boats who were expected to be
imminently handed over to the navy on the high seas after being
intercepted by Australian customs vessels earlier this week.



"There is nothing at the moment, we have no idea," he said.



On Thursday, Dr Rambukwella told Fairfax Media that the transfer would take place.



"They will be accepted and received by the [Sri Lankan] navy
and the normal procedures will take place from there onward," he said.



The Tamil community says it is likely the asylum seekers will
be tortured if they are returned to Sri Lanka, which is currently under
investigation for allegations of war crimes.



This week, human rights advocates, academics and the United
Nations body for refugees have slammed the government’s secrecy on the
location of the boats. They also say asking four basic questions over
the telephone cannot constitute a fair refugee assessment procedure.



"There can be no more serious risk of violation of rights and
endangering of lives than handing people directly back to the
authorities who they fear will persecute them, without any proper
assessment of their claims," Human rights lawyer David Manne said:



Professor Jane McAdam from the Kaldor Centre for
International Refugee Law at the University of NSW said it was
concerning there was no access to legal advice offered, nor a proper
process to assess their claims. 



As the media spotlight intensifies on the whereabouts of the
boats - one holding 153 asylum seekers, the other 50 people - Mr
Morrison cancelled plans to visit a detention centre in Melbourne on
Friday due to protest activities.



"Unfortunately as a result of the protest activity by
advocates, excursions for detainees and legitimate visits to the centre
had to be cancelled because of the disruption to centre operations," a
spokesman for Mr Morrison said.



"The decision to engage in protest activity is a matter for
the individuals involved, however they should be aware such protest
activity can and does frustrate the services provided to detainees."