Colombo: Sri Lanka will simplify immigration procedures to expedite the voluntary return of refugees from India who left the country without valid documents during its decades-long civil war, the government told the parliament Wednesday.
The cabinet decided to allow them back in with a security clearance, public security minister Ananda Wijepala said while responding to a query from the opposition, adding that those willing to return needed to get in touch with the Sri Lankan mission in Chennai.
Sri Lankan refugees began arriving in Tamil Nadu in large numbers after ethnic violence in the island nation that started in 1983, and the subsequent escalation of the armed conflict between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which went on for nearly three decades.
While around 18,000 of them returned home between 2002 and 2022, approximately 90,000 refugees continue to reside in the southern Indian state. Many of those who remain have spent decades in India, with questions around livelihoods, documentation and long-term legal status forming part of the challenges surrounding their eventual return.
Earlier this month, Sri Lanka’s government approved special immigration arrangements to facilitate the return of refugees from India. The measures – aimed at implementing legal hurdles – will be implemented for those returning under the auspices of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Under the approved arrangements, Sri Lankan nationals who left the country before August 1, 2006, without a passport will be screened by the State Intelligence Service to verify that they have not been accused of murder, treason or other specified offences.
Those cleared through the screening process will be allowed to enter Sri Lanka through an authorised airport or port on temporary passports, and will not be subject to legal proceedings under the country’s immigration law for their unauthorised departure.
In May last year, a 75-year-old Sri Lankan Tamil refugee was arrested by immigration authorities at the airport in Jaffna after returning from India, which raised concerns and led the government to chalk out a more streamlined process to faciliate the return of refugees.
Opposition leader Shanakiyan Rasamanickam Wednesday said the opposition parties can be of help if the government allowed the necessary documentation to be sent to refugees in advance, to which the minister agreed.