BUCHAREST. Romania, Mar 2: Authorities expelled more than 1OO citizens from Shri Lanka arid India in the first large scale deportation of asy him seekers from developing i ountrics, state television said Monday, reports AP

TV showed frontier police ushering 133 people — 94 Shri Lankans and 39 Indians — through the gates of Bucharest's Otopeni International Airport. They were flown to Bombay and Colombo, respectively.

An Interior Ministry spokesman said Monday's deportation was only the "beginning of a larger process, of deportation."

Shri Lankans and Somalis account for the bulk of some 9,000 illegal aliens who live In this poor east European coun-try.

The foreigners, also Including Pakistanis, Chinese and Albanians, have been accused — and some of them convicted — of various crimes, including drug trafficking and weapons smuggling.

The TV report said the government set aside sojic 56 million lei (dlrs 100.000) to pay for the air fares of the deportees and for some deportation procedures.

Some of the aliens, who entered Romania illegally in late 1992, have been tried in various Romanian cities and convicted to up to 2 years in prison, and expulsion from Romania, the TV report said.

Most of the Shri Lartkans and Somalis fled civil war In their countries and refused to return, settling in Bucharest and waiting to be granted political refugee status and visas for Western countries.