"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.