Sri Lanka's Prime Minister says Sri Lankan asylum seekers living in Australian-run camps on Nauru and Papua New Guinea's Manus Island are welcome to return home.
The ABC reported that Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is visiting Australia, made the statement in a joint press conference with Australia's Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, on Wednesday.
Ranil Wickremesinghe is currently visiting New Zealand for the first time. Photo: AFP
"Come back. All is forgiven. It's quite safe in Sri Lanka. We're just starting the Missing Persons Office. It's quite safe and some of them [asylum seekers] are from areas where the conflict never took place - some of them are not even Tamils."
However a human rights lawyer, Lakshan Dias, who represents asylum seekers and refugees in Sri Lanka, warned against returning, saying the situation was still dangerous.