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Swiss minister to discuss repatriation of Tamil refugees with Colombo

Switzerland's minister for justice Simonetta Sommaruga said she intends to discuss the repatriation of Tamil asylum seekers during her visit to Colombo next week. 
Ms Sommaruga hopes to form a "bilateral agreement governing repatriations from Switzerland and to intensify cooperation between the two countries on the issue", Swiss Info reported. 
In a statement she said that she would “be meeting with returnees from Switzerland and will visit a project for vocational training and continuing education that receives funding from Switzerland and is also open to returnees from Switzerland.”
The move follows a visit by Sri Lanka's foreign minister, Mangala Samaraweera in March, where he promised that repatriated Tamil asylum seekers would be given safe passage. 
However, it has been widely criticised by human rights groups who have reported on a number of cases of Tamils being detained and tortured following repatriation. 

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