Protests in Tamil Nadu ease
by Manjula Fernando
The protests in Tamil Nadu over Sri Lanka has seen a lull lately, but
the Deputy High Commissioner in Chennai is yet to encourage visitors
from Sri Lanka to South India.
The Acting Chief of Mission in Chennai Ameer Ajwad said the protests
by college students were still on, but not as intense as what was
witnessed during the past weeks.
"Their focus is now on the Central Government and not directly
towards Sri Lanka or Sri Lankans," he said adding that the mission is
closely monitoring the situation.
"The tensions still prevail, therefore I would not encourage visitors
from Sri Lanka. It is better to postpone any scheduled visit to Tamil
Nadu until the tensions die down."
The Deputy HC said he hoped the situation will return to normal soon,
but expressed concern that with another token protest by film actors,
Rajinikanth and Kamal Hassan scheduled for tomorrow, tensions could well
be whipped up once again.
In the light of these negative developments, there has been a
significant drop in Lankan visitors to Chennai and Tamil Nadu, mostly
Buddhist, Catholic and Hindu pilgrims, during the past couple of weeks.
SriLankan Airlines reacted by reducing its daily flights to Chennai
from four to two.
The Acting HC said there were less than 100 Lankan students, both
Sinhalese and Tamils, in Chennai universities and colleges and there had
not been any reports of harassment on students.
"Some students have gone back to Sri Lanka since the colleges still
remain closed, but some are staying back with their foster families."
The mission has not received any complaints of security concerns from
students so far. However, he said any student who feels threatened can
contact his office via TP.04428252612 or [email protected] |