Members of the Catholic clergy from the North-East say it is “too early” to return asylum seekers back to Sri Lanka, as it still is not safe.

Speaking to The Guardian, Catholic priest and lawyer Fr Veerasan Yogeswaran, who runs the Centre for Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, says although the new government has brought in some positive changes, concerns remained.

“My general view of the countries holding asylum seekers: please do not send them back immediately,” he said. “There are positive developments. But at the same time these are not signs that everything is good and everything is democratic now.”

The priest from Trincomalee said the human rights situation in Sri Lanka remains unresolved and uncertain.

“The minority communities are of the opinion still that we do not feel safety and security in this island. And that is one of the reasons that they are also fleeing. There may not be abductions but there can be constant harassment and intimidations,” he said, adding that the heavy military presence continued to cause insecurity.

“That’s why the north and east are calling to demilitarise these areas. Remove excessive army camps and remove army or armed forces’ influence over the civilian life. The government is still not addressing these issues. The government says we will not move any military settlements or military camps. And they are increasing it again, here and there. All that shows that we are living in an occupied land under intimidation and threat and therefore the people feel insecure and security is threatened. So they are not leading a normal life as the other Sri Lankans [are].”

The Bishop of Mannar Rayappu Joseph also echoed Fr Yogeswaran’s sentiments.

“Even now, the people are living in fear,” he said.

The bishop said the best way for Australia and other countries to stop people from Sri Lanka leaving on boats is “to involve themselves in the political formation of this country and create a situation where the people feel that they are wanted and that they are equal citizens of this country and that they can rule and develop themselves as a nation.

“Those countries must be involving themselves to get the Sri Lankan government solving this issue – a hundred year problem – the political rights of the Tamil people. This is a multinational, multiracial, multilinguistic, multicultural, multireligious country. They must accept that fundamentally in the constitution, this is the political reality of the country.”