(UCAN) The Government’s plan to deport 104 Rohingya refugees, who were detained last month, back to Myanmar has triggered condemnation from rights groups and political opposition.

The uproar began after Ananda Wijepala, Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs, on Jan. 3, said the government is considering deporting Rohingya refugees, all Muslims, who arrived via sea route last month.

Wijepala’s statement said his government began discussing the issue with Myanmar authorities, and deportation can occur only after the legal process.

On Dec. 23, the government, through an official gazette, designated an Air Force facility as a temporary ‘Detention Center’ for the refugees.

Arun Hemachandra, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment, earlier said that based on preliminary investigations, the government suspects the refugees could be victims of human smuggling.

However, Hemachandra said the refugees were rescued and accepted as per the international conventions, to which Sri Lanka is a signatory.

His comment came after the refugees arrived on the Sri Lanka coast in a country boat. The 12 people who allegedly brought the refugees were charged under human trafficking laws in Sri Lanka.

Human rights activist Ruki Fernando, who criticized the government plan, also accused the government of denying him access to the refugees despite weeks of attempts.

The government also did not even allow the media to know the condition of the refugees, he alleged.

Fernando told UCA News that the government cannot simply turn away the refugees even if they arrived on the island as suspected trafficking victims.

“They are stateless people who are not recognized by the Myanmar authorities. How can we send them back to a country, which doesn’t recognize them as citizens and from where they fled. Are we going to send them back to sea?” asked Fernando.

Mujibur Rahman, a Muslim parliamentarian from the opposition alliance, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (United People’s Power), also criticized the government plan.

Rahman recently wrote to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake not to deport the people who are seeking refuge in Sri Lanka from the prosecution of Myanmar’s ruling military junta.

“This is about their survival… We cannot simply send them back,” Rahman wrote, urging Dissanayake to show Sri Lanka’s commitment to protecting human rights and communal harmony.

Sri Lankan navy and fishermen rescued the refugees on Dec. 20 on Sri Lanka’s northern coast at Mullivaikaal. The refugees include 25 children.

Media reports say their asylum applications are currently being processed by the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR.

A senior Catholic Church official declined to comment on the issue when UCA News contacted.