The World - News from Jan. 22, 1989
A Sri Lankan man deported from Britain after a two-year battle for asylum returned home and accused the British government of racism. Viraj Mendis, 32, had sought asylum since late 1986 by holing up in an English church. His fight ended when British authorities entered the church in Manchester last week and put him on a flight to Sri Lanka, where he arrived under escort. Mendis, a Sinhalese who says he is a Communist and supports the struggle by Tamils for autonomy in his country, said he fears persecution or death in Sri Lanka. He left the Colombo airport for an undisclosed location to write his memoirs.
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