Quelling fears of a possible war in the Korean peninsula and the probability of Sri Lankan workers in South Korea being exposed to danger, resulting in migration back to Sri Lanka, Foreign Employment, Promotion and Welfare Minister Dilan Perera said there was no imminent danger of war, and the Ministry was preparing to send the next batch of workers to South Korea.

“This is just rhetoric; even in Sri Lanka we have organisations such as the Bodhu Bala Sena who give these kinds of threats, which are only confined to rhetoric and nothing more. These people only know how to talk big. We are in fact taking all relevant measures to send the new batch in the coming weeks” he said.

Further, the Minister said he was in contact with the South Korean authorities.

“There are over 25,000 workers there and I have been assured that there was nothing to worry. However, in the event something happens, which is in actual fact a big ‘if’, then we have also developed a contingency plan to gather all our workers and bring them back” he said.

The Minister also said Sri Lankan migrant workers had faced similar situations before and the government would work closely with the International Migration Organisation (IMO) in the event tensions rose between the Korean neighbours.

“During the Kuwaiti invasion and even recently during the Libyan crisis we worked closely with the IMO. If something of this sort happens in Korea, we will continue to work closely with them” he said. (H.F)

Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)