Sri Lanka moves to ease return of refugees from India after decades in wait

NEW DELHI: Sri Lanka will simplify immigration procedures to facilitate the voluntary return of Tamil refugees from India who left the island without valid documents during the country's decades-long civil war, the administration informed Parliament on Wednesday, seeking to remove legal hurdles.

Key points

• Around 18, 000 refugees returned to Sri Lanka between 2002 and 2022, but approximately 90, 000 remain in Tamil Nadu alone as per various estimates.
• Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala remarked the Cabinet had approved special arrangements allowing eligible returnees to enter Sri Lanka after security clearance.
• The Sri Lankan Cabinet earlier this month approved special immigration arrangements for refugees returning under the auspices of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
• The decision follows reservations raised after a 75-year-old Sri Lankan Tamil refugee was arrested by immigration authorities at Jaffna airport in May last year after returning from India.
• Opposition leader Shanakiyan Rasamanickam remarked opposition parties could assist by ensuring refugees receive the required documentation before travelling.

Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala remarked the Cabinet had approved special arrangements allowing eligible returnees to enter Sri Lanka after security clearance. "The Cabinet decided to allow them back in with a security clearance, " Wijepala remarked and went on that those wishing to return should contact the Sri Lankan mission in Chennai.

For context, the move addresses a longstanding matter affecting thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils who fled to India after ethnic violence that began in 1983 and the subsequent war between administration forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). It lasted almost three decades.

Around 18, 000 refugees returned to Sri Lanka between 2002 and 2022, but approximately 90, 000 remain in Tamil Nadu alone as per various estimates. Plenty of have spent decades in India, making documentation, livelihoods and long-term legal status key worries in any eventual return.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan Cabinet earlier this month approved special immigration arrangements for refugees returning under the auspices of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Under the plan, Sri Lankan nationals who left before August 1, 2006, without passports will undergo screening by the State Intelligence Service to establish that they have not been accused of murder, treason or other specified offences.

Those cleared will be permitted to enter through an authorised airport or port using temporary passports and will not face proceedings under Sri Lanka's immigration law for their unauthorised departure. The decision follows reservations raised after a 75-year-old Sri Lankan Tamil refugee was arrested by immigration authorities at Jaffna airport in May last year after returning from India. The incident highlighted the legal uncertainties facing returnees and prompted calls for a more predictable repatriation mechanism.

Opposition leader Shanakiyan Rasamanickam remarked opposition parties could assist by ensuring refugees receive the required documentation before travelling. Wijepala agreed, signalling that the administration would backing sending necessary documents to prospective returnees in advance.

Taken together, the developments around sri Lanka moves to ease return of refugees from India after decades point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.