"Freedom" for 1500 Tamil refugees to leave the refuge camps and return home

(Aug.05,2009): Sri Lanka’s government will allow about 1,500 Tamil refugees to leave camps where they are confined, and return to their homes, said Rizado Bathiudeen, the Minister for Resettlement of refugees. He said some 1445 people on Tuesday will go back to the eastern provinces and 54 other districts of Jaffna. He added that it was necessary to ascertain the war refugee’s actual origin before allowing their return. Above all, government troops had to verify, if Tamil Tigers militants were hidden among the refugees, he added.
The government has also decided to allow the refugees to leave the camps and go to the homes and land available around Omanthial, Vayuniya district. The government's decision follows the 28 July letter from Human Rights Watch, HRW, which accused Colombo of keeping refugees from the long civil war against Tamil Tigers, “confined in the camps against their will, even if the war is over for months”.
Brad Adams, HRW director for Asia, observed that according to UN data from July 2009 there are 281,621 people in 30 refugee camps under the strict supervision of the soldiers, who may leave only for emergency medical treatment, usually under military escort.