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| Sunday, 5 June 2005 |
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Chance for Lankan refugees in India by Don Asoka Wijewardena Around 53,000 Sri Lankan refugees who are stranded in India,especially in Chennai and in the camps throughout Tamil Nadu will have a chance to return to the island as both Sri Lankan and Indian Government have commenced discussions to deal with the issue,said United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sri Lanka's representative Rajiv Kapur in an interview with the Sunday Observer. Kupur explained that out of 53,000 Lankan refugees about 28,298 people were of Indian origin who had fled the country in the wake of the ethnic conflict and added that as there was no repatriation programme implemented so far either by the Sri Lankan government or Indian government some refugees had been returning to Sri Lanka by themselves illegally without following correct procedure and taking a risk in travelling with their kith and kin paying exorbitant prices to boat owners. Kupur stressed that since his assumption of duties as UNHCR Sri Lanka's representative he had discussed this matter with some high officials of the Sri Lankan government and added that the Sri Lankan government was holding discussions with the Indian government on repatriation of all Sri Lankan refugees stranded in India. Referring to the new measures introduced by the UNHCR, Kupur said that the UNHCR had drawn up a constructive plan to help returnees with non-food relief items like clothes, cooking utensils and facilitate other issues with the respective government agents of the areas. "Trafficking is a matter of serious concern and I have raised this issue to the relevant authorities. As far as I am concerned both governments have realised the crux of the problem and have commenced discussions to resolve this issue," Kupur said. Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Relief,Rehabilitation and Reconciliation Dr. A. S. Kunasingham said that a large number of Sri Lankan refugees who fled the island in 1990 because of the danger to their lives in the wake of the ethnic conflict were interested in returning to Sri Lanka. Dr. Kunasingham noted that with the eruption of troubles in 1983 the Tamils of Indian origin and Sri Lankan Tamils living in the North sought refuge in Tamil Nadu and added that the issue of travel documents and registration of births of refugee children were being processed by the Deputy High Commissioner's office in India free of charge in India. He said that a large number of exists to whom citizenship had to be granted under the prescribed Acts viz., No 35 of 2003, the citizenship Act of 1948 and other legal instruments issued in 1988. |
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