Citizenship to 29,489 Sri Lankans in Tamil Nadu refugee camps

An interim report was presented to the Parliament yesterday (24th) on 29,489 Sri Lankans living in 117 refugee camps in India as “stateless” people who are to be awarded citizenship in Sri Lanka and resettle them said Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee tasked with bringing back Sri Lankans of Indian origin living in refugee camps in Tamil Nadu, JVP MP Ramalingam Chandrasekar.

Speaking at a media meeting held at Parliamentary Complex yesterday Mr. Chandrasekar said these people became ‘stateless’ as a result of an act brought by the UNP in 1949. He said when he and JVP Parliamentarian Bimal Ratnayake toured India in 2007 they discussed the issues Sri Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu were confronted with and out of the 95,219 Sri Lankan refugees in 117 camps in Tamil Nadu, 28,489 persons were identified as stateless. He said he presented their request to get back their citizenship as a resolution in the Parliament and after discussions with Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake a Parliamentary Select committee consisting of representatives of all parties representing Parliament was appointed to go into the matter. The committee met six times and a proposal was presented to Parliament on 22nd February, 2008 which was adopted.

He said the Committee recommended the resettlement project be implemented in three different stages:

1. Renovating existing houses, building houses on land owned by refugees and starting new housing schemes.

2. Setting up transit camps to accommodate returnees for a period of not more than three months until their resettlement. During their stay in welfare camps, temporary identity should be given to them to facilitate their movement until the issuance of National Identity Cards.

3. As there are many talented youth among the refugees they should be given vocational training so that they would be gainfully employed. It was submitted before the PSC that some of the youth had obtained higher education from universities and higher educational institutions in Tamil Nadu. Those educational qualifications should be recognized by the Sri Lankan Ministry of Education and Higher Education and job opportunities provided depending on their qualifications.