http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11875310%255E1702,00.html

Sri Lanka bans adoption
From correspondents in Colombo
January 7, 2005

SRI Lanka has banned the adoption of children orphaned by a deadly tsunami
until further notice after receiving unconfirmed reports that some children
were snatched in the wake of the disaster, government officials said today.

The United Nations has voiced concern that criminal gangs could target children
orphaned or separated from parents across a host of Asian countries devastated
by the disaster to sell them into slavery, but no confirmed cases have surfaced
in Sri Lanka.

"Adopting the children until a permanent solution is implemented is illegal,"
government spokesman Managala Samaraweera told reporters after a cabinet
briefing.

"Not even a Sri Lankan can adopt a child affected by this disaster until the
government has come out with their program," he said.

"Even if they are relatives, they are not expected to take children without
government permission."



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A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown