Latest figures form the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection indicate that most of the asylum seekers coming from the island of Sri Lanka had been persecuted on the basis of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.
Statistics showed that over 63.9% of the asylum seekers that reached Australia by plane in 2012-13 were legitimate refugees.
Figures also revealed that 52.1% of the asylum seekers that arrived by boat were also classified as legitimate refugees, despite being sent back to Sri Lanka by the immigration authority.
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