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Lanka to issue free passports to Tamil refugees in India

10 January 2012 02:15 am - 9     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

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The Sri Lankan government has taken steps to provide free passports to Lankan refugees living in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu to assist them repatriate with minimum costs.
 
President Rajapaksa who is also the Minister of Defence and Urban Development has authorised to waive the LKR4,400 fee to obtain a Sri Lankan passport for refugees in Tamil Nadu.
 
An initiative by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the move is aimed at encouraging the repatriation of a large number of Sri Lankan Tamils living in refugee camps in Tamil Nadu back to their homes in Sri Lanka.
 
According to the Indian government, some 69,000 Sri Lankan refugees were living in 112 camps in Tamil Nadu, while some refugees have also settled in their own homes. More than 90,000 Sri Lankan Tamils, predominantly from the North and East of the country, fled to Tamil Nadu during the country’s three-decade war with the the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE). Since the government’s victory over the LTTE in 2009 and the gradual demining of the former LTTE territory, Lanka has concentrated on a massive resettlement and development drive.
 
Under Sri Lanka’s Immigration and Emigration Act, the refugees are required to have a valid passport to land in Sri Lanka.
 
According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) there has been a steady return of Lankan refugees, mainly from India, back into their country since the end of the war two-and-a-half years ago. (Source:Khaleej Times Online)


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  Comments - 9

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  • papara Tuesday, 10 January 2012 05:07 AM

    My brother is not a refugee...Can he also apply for a free passport since he don't have job?

    Engineer Tuesday, 10 January 2012 05:16 AM

    I thought the point was to get rid of them. Why are we providing incentives for them to come back now?

    Lanka Atapattu Tuesday, 10 January 2012 05:44 AM

    Good!!!

    MK Tuesday, 10 January 2012 05:54 AM

    Good move towards reconcilliation

    King Tuesday, 10 January 2012 07:39 AM

    @engineer why shud v gt rid of them? They also children of mother srilanka

    Rosh Tuesday, 10 January 2012 08:59 AM

    What for? They should be charged premium price. The destruction has done by their beloved barbarian brotherhood is enough, and we give concessions too....

    The Judge Tuesday, 10 January 2012 01:50 PM

    @Rosh- All the tamils are not LTTE-

    ravi Tuesday, 10 January 2012 02:01 PM

    It's because of barbarians like you we cannot have a united Sri Lanka. Shame on you Rosh, don't call yourself a Sri Lankan. These are our brother Sri Lankans who fled the war.

    ravi Tuesday, 10 January 2012 02:33 PM

    Papara, Your brother doesn't need a passport to get a job. These are Sri Lankans who fled due to war; to come back to their country.


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