Displaced Persons in Sri Lanka

 

1.   CAUSES OF THE RECENT EXODUS

Since 11 June 1990, over one million people have been displaced by the fighting between Sri Lankan armed forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Reuters 2 Sept. 1990, 1 Sept. 1990). The resolve of the Tamil guerrillas and the army's large-scale military operation aimed at eliminating resistance have prompted many civilians to flee their homes. Massacres of Muslim communities, bombings, pillage, extortion and harassment of inhabitants by the various forces have also forced much of the population of northeastern Sri Lanka to flee in recent weeks (Le Monde 29 June 1990; Reuters 29 Oct. 1990; The Associated Press 21 Oct. 1990). Refugees, most of them Tamils fleeing from air bombing and fighting in the northeast, come from all social strata, with young children making up the largest group (The Hindu 4 Aug. 1990c; Inter Press Service 22 Aug. 1990). Large numbers of Muslims, also victims of massacres by the Tigers in August 1990, have begun to leave rebel-controlled areas (India Abroad 9 Nov. 1990, 4). Thousands of Tamils have crossed the Palk Strait, which separates their island from southern India, while Muslims have sought refuge in the areas south of Mannar Island (see Appendix 1: map) or in the capital, Colombo, which can offer them temporary shelter.

2.           CONDITIONS OF THE DISPLACED PERSONS

Many civilians are caught up in the fighting which has raged in the northeastern province since 11 June 1990 (FBIS-NES-90-117 19 June 1990). Destruction caused by air bombing has prompted the evacuation of many villages (Reuters 28 Aug. 1990; The Associated Press, 11 Sept. 1990). Families who are harassed by the Tigers (forced to send a young son to join guerrilla ranks, for example, or to help finance the Tigers' military activities) are driven to seek the protection of another country (The Associated Press 21 Oct. 1990; India Today 15 Apr. 1990, 117-123). Most refugees must walk a long way to the coast since the air force bombs vehicles travelling on those roads as yet undamaged in the northeast (FBIS-NES-90-136 16 July 1990). Security conditions are precarious not only in the northeastern part of the country but also in the southern provinces, where anti-Tamil feelings are aggravated by Singhalese chauvinism which is fostered by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). Despite the losses suffered by the JVP last year, it has redoubled its efforts in the civil war which is ravaging the southern part of the country. Eastern Sri Lanka, the region in which fighting between Tamil guerrillas and security forces is most intense, is increasingly torn by tensions between Muslim and Tamil communities.

Although many refugees manage to find temporary asylum, the number of civilian victims remains very high. Groups of refugees fleeing combat areas gather in temples, schools, emergency shelters for cyclone victims and seek any available refuge (The Associated Press 21 Oct. 1990; The Sri Lanka Monitor June 1990a, 3). Some of these temporary shelters, however, have been bombarded by government forces (Indian Express 3 July 1990) and refugees have been cut off from the world and deprived of supplies for long periods of time (FBIS-NES-90-136 16 July 1990). The famine which exists in several such refuges has caused the deaths of numerous refugee families (The Sri Lanka Monitor July 1990, 2). With the closing of stores in Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Jaffna and the interruption of foreign trade since June 1990, shortages have developed rapidly throughout these regions (The Hindu 28 June 1990, 1). Some 695 temporary camps have been quickly set up in Northeastern Sri Lanka since fighting resumed, including 344 in the Jaffna region alone (Documentation-Réfugiés 21-30 Aug. 1990, 2). Refugees arrive in these camps starving and exhausted after walking for several days (Reuters 2 Sept. 1990, 1 Sept. 1990). The Red Cross distributes supplies to refugees who have fallen ill or been wounded while fleeing (Agence France Presse 13 July 1990).

The refugees' destination is the northwest coast of the country, in particular Mannar Island which is the departure point for the many boats that carry refugees to India. In July, Tigers mined the bridge connecting Mannar Island to the mainland, thus preventing supplies and medication from being sent to the refugees already there (The Daily Telegraph 17 July 1990, 11). The journey is expensive, and when refugees succeed in boarding, it is often on dilapidated vessels (The Times 11 July 1990). Refugees must also elude the Sri Lankan and Indian navies, which patrol the Palk Strait, and must plot a winding course to cross the narrow passage (FBIS-NES-90-131 9 July 1990). In July, the Sri Lankan navy, suspecting that a boat carried Tamil militants, fired on its passengers, killing 24 people (FBIS-NES-90-136 16 July 1990; The Sri Lanka Monitor July 1990, 2). In August, Indian navy searchlights caused panic on board another vessel that ran aground on shoals off the coast of India: at least seventeen passengers drowned (Reuters 7 Oct. 1990). Sri Lankan marines also succeeded in turning back several boatloads of refugees to their point of departure, usually Talaimannar, the principal town of Mannar Island (La Presse 11 July 1990).

Refugees who reach India are received with reservation by the Indian government and people. Refugee camps in India are overcrowded and the presence of Tamil refugees thus poses a delicate political problem for Indian authorities (see Appendix 2: Refugee Camps in India), who finally asked for camps to be set up in Sri Lanka.

3.         REFUGEE CAMPS IN SRI LANKA

3.1       Sri Lanka's Response to India's Request

When Indian authorities proposed that a refugee camp be set up in Sri Lanka, the Premadasa government was already planning to evacuate civilians living near combat zones (FBIS-NES-90-124 27 June 1990). Although it claimed to be responding to international opinion, which criticized the Sri Lankan regime for its many human rights violations, especially against Tamils, the Sri Lankan government actually wished to evacuate people in order to leave the field clear for a final assault which was intended to annihilate Tamil separatists in the northeast (Agence France Presse 11 Aug. 1990). In response to India's request, Sri Lankan authorities proposed instead to open two camps, one in Mannar and the other in Vavuniya, under the supervision of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (FBIS-NES-90-145 27 July 1990; The Associated Press 21 Oct. 1990). The Mannar camp is still in the planning stage; the Vavuniya camp, which can accommodate some 5,000 refugees, was opened on 31 August, but without the intervention of the UNHCR, i.e., without international surveillance and without guarantees that the terms of the Convention would be respected (The Xinhua General Overseas News Service 31 Aug. 1990; The Hindu 1 Sept. 1990). Sri Lankan authorities also made plans to open a third camp in the town of Madhu, near Vavuniya (The Hindu 22 Sept. 1990).

3.2      Obstacles to Establishing Camps in Sri Lanka

Many obstacles still hinder the establishment of refugee camps in Sri Lanka. The Tigers, who control part of the districts of Mannar and Vavuniya, oppose the plan (The Xinhua General Overseas News Service 15 Aug. 1990), and negotiations with them have remained fruitless (The Hindu 22 Sept. 1990). The populations affected also oppose the plan, for the Sri Lankan army has set up a camp on Mannar Island, and refugees are afraid of being mistreated by soldiers (The Hindu 4 Aug. 1990d). Moreover, on 1 November 1990 some 2,000 soldiers landed on Mannar Island to drive away the rebels, thus making the island a new combat zone (Agence France Presse 1 Nov. 1990). The main obstacle to establishing camps, however, stems from the fact that refugees, living in precarious conditions and fearing for their lives, prefer to leave the country (FBIS-NES-90-130 6 July 1990; The Hindu 1 Sept. 1990). Moreover, although the northeast has been the site of much fighting over recent years, the escalation of conflict since June 1990 has strengthened the determination of many Tamils to leave Sri Lanka permanently (The Hindu 4 Aug. 1990d; Indian Express 20 June 1990).

3.3        Displacement of Muslim Populations

In July 1990, Tamil rebels killed 168 Muslims in an attack on a convoy carrying supplies from Colombo to Batticaloa (The Daily Telegraph 17 July 1990, 11). In August, people living in the Muslim villages of Kathankudy, Eravur and Akkaraipattu were killed by aggressors whom the government links to the Tamil Tigers. The Tigers, however, denied that they were involved in the massacres and accused authorities of seeking to poison relations between Hindu Tamils and Muslims (Agence France Presse 12 Aug. 1990). These relations have been poor for years, however, and although Muslims have linguistic affinities with Tamils, they have maintained a distance from the interethnic conflict in Sri Lanka (Asiaweek 16 Nov. 1990, 38). The neutrality of the Muslims and their desire for peace lead the Tamil Tigers to suspect them of collaborating with the Sri Lankan government (Reuters 28 Oct. 1990). Conflicts between Hindu Tamil and Muslim Tamil communities, especially in the mixed villages of the provinces of Trincomalee and Batticaloa, have intensified since Tamil independence fighters resumed hostilities in the early eighties, and reached a climax when Tigers attacked Muslim communities. Following the massacres last August, Muslims fled the combat zones to seek refuge in the region of Nattandiya (FBIS-NES-90-167 28 Aug. 1990). The Tigers want non-Tamil populations, including Muslims, to withdraw from Tamil Eelam, their ancestral homeland. To achieve this, they have conducted a campaign of harassment and threats against the Singhalese and Muslims in the northeast, forcing many of them to flee (Agence France Presse 30 Oct. 1990). Some 4,000 Muslims from Mannar were already in exile in the Medamachia region when fighting resumed in June (The Sri Lanka Monitor June 1990b, 4). The Tigers recently ordered Muslims to leave the northeastern province and declared that all those who remained on 31 October 1990 would be executed (Agence France Presse 30 Oct. 1990).

In response to this ultimatum, Muslims from Mannar, Jaffna and Mullaitivu promptly left their homes and belongings (Reuters 28 Oct. 1990) and headed south to seek refuge in the regions of Kalpitiya and Vavuniya and in the capital (Reuters 29 Oct. 1990). The speed with which the Muslim refugees moved and the short time allowed by the Tigers to organize their departure caused much suffering. Reports indicate that many refugees are caught in the Kilinochchi region, where famine prevails, medication is scarce and disease kills the weakest (Asiaweek 16 Nov. 1990, 38). Means of transportation are also limited and refugees have been weakened by long hours of walking. In view of the rise of Singhalese chauvinism and Tamil militancy, the fate of Muslims in the capital and in the southern regions, with their Singhalese majority, and in the northeast of the country, where they are constantly turned back, remains uncertain.

4.        THE CURRENT SITUATION

With the arrival of about 1,300 Sri Lankan Tamils in Rameswaram in late October and the recent displacement of the Muslim populations of northeastern Sri Lanka, the situation of refugees is more severe than ever. For many Sri Lankan Tamils trapped in the conflict which is tearing Sri Lanka apart, exile is now the only solution to the problem of survival. Even in 1989, a relatively calm year, the fighting in Sri Lanka was called the bloodiest civil war in the world (The Economist, 7 Oct. 1989). The Tigers' use of a larger number of squadrons consisting of women and children is an indication of the dramatic decrease in the number of young Tamils still alive. Fighting has intensified since June 1990 and few civilians can still be spared. In the capital, tensions are growing sharper and many fear the 1983 riots between communities in Colombo will be repeated in the foreseeable future. These fears have become more intense since June due to the arrest in Colombo of some 2,000 young Tamils suspected of belonging to the Tigers (The Sri Lanka Monitor Sept. 1990, 2). Other factors which could increase the risks of returning to the country include the final failure of peace negotiations and the government's inability to attack the roots of the ethnic problem in Sri Lanka. The "final solution" advocated by the Sri Lankan government has reinforced the Tigers' position.

Refugees who have succeeded in fleeing the country are nevertheless in a far from reassuring situation, not having obtained the protection they need. In India, their presence is considered a destabilizing factor; further, since refugees are seen as undesirable, they are liable to be sacrificed in the name of social peace, a priority for India which is itself grappling with serious political, ethnic and religious problems. The only resort for Sri Lankan refugees, faced with the escalation of fighting and the blockage of all negotiations between the government and rebels, thus remains to seek refuge in other countries.

5.        APPENDIX 1: MAP

See original

6.              APPENDIX 2: REFUGEE CAMPS IN INDIA

6.1        A Brief History of Refugee Camps in India

Sri Lanka's political instability and interethnic problems have always had repercussions in southern India, especially in the State of Tamil Nadu, which now has a Tamil population of over 50 million (The Times 11 July 1990). In recent years, the ethnic affinities which connect inhabitants of southern India with Tamils in Sri Lanka have encouraged the former to offer political asylum to Sri Lankan refugees (Inter Press Service 20 July 1990). The 1983 massacres in Sri Lanka also caused movements of refugees to India, and the constant fighting between Tamil militants and the armed forces feeds the uninterrupted flow of refugees, which increased in 1985. The presence of these large numbers of refugees on Indian soil has caused major diplomatic problems, since the Indian government felt obligated to intervene in the Sri Lankan conflict for humanitarian reasons and to protect its own interests in the region (De Fontgalland 1986, 75). During the occupation of the northeastern province of Sri Lanka by Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF) from July 1987 to March 1990, several refugee camps were closed in India (FBIS-NES-90-136 16 July 1990). Abuses by Indian soldiers on Sri Lankan soil and the fierce resistance of the Tigers, however, drove fresh contingents of refugees to seek asylum in southern India (The Hindu 4 Aug. 1990c). For several years, some Sri Lankan refugees had been returning under the aegis of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (Refugees Apr. 1989), but this repatriation program was quickly scaled down due to a lack of candidates for voluntary repatriation.

Soon after the Tiger offensive on 11 June, part of the population displaced by the fighting sought refuge in India. The Mandapam and Kottaipattu camps near Rameswaram were quickly filled to capacity. The Mandapam camp alone received 72,500 refugees between 1 July and 16 August 1990 (Documentation-Réfugiés, 30 Sept.-9 Oct. 1990, 3). Refugees had to be relocated to other districts of the State of Tamil Nadu, namely the districts of Salem, from Tiruchirappalli (Mandapam, Kottaipattu and Tirunelveli), from Nilgiris, Madurai and Pasumpon Thevar Thirumagan (Sivaganga), to camps consisting of tents borrowed from the army, schools or temporary shelters (FBIS-NES-90-133 11 July 1990; The Hindu 11 July 1990). Currently there are many temporary shelters for refugees scattered across the State of Tamil Nadu, most of them quickly thrown together by Indian authorities and by the refugees themselves (The Sri Lanka Monitor Aug. 1990a, 4).

Other states have also been affected by recent events in Sri Lanka, in particular the States of Orissa and Kerala. They have been designated by the Indian government to provide protection for families of militants or politicians belonging to rival Tamil groups, in particular the pro-Indian Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), which collaborates with Sri Lankan authorities in the war against the Tigers. These families must go underground to avoid being victims of reprisals by Tigers, who are very active in the State of Tamil Nadu and have sworn to destroy the EPRLF (FBIS-NES-90-120 21 June 1990). Other groups, such as the "Tigress" commandos which recently deserted in India, are also targets (The Independent 14 Sept. 1990, 13).

6.2    Political and Social Problems Associated With the Influx of Refugees

Refugees pose a serious threat to the social peace which exists in Tamil Nadu, and their presence could serve to arouse separatist feelings among Indian Tamils (Reuters 15 July 1990). The latter are showing less enthusiasm toward their Sri Lankan "cousins" who are flooding in by the tens of thousands, mobilizing the state's meagre resources and carrying their rivalries with them, as witness the assassination, presumably by Tigers, of most EPRLF leaders on 19 June 1990 in the heart of Madras (The Times 11 July 1990; Far Eastern Economic Review 26 July 1990, 19). The Sri Lankan refugee problem is also exacerbating relations between the central government and the State of Tamil Nadu because of the pressure it exerts on available resources and the discontent it arouses among the public (The Economist 23 June 1990, 28; The Sri Lanka Monitor Aug. 1990b, 4). As a result, Sri Lankan refugees have received a cool welcome since June 1990 and Indian policy toward the refugees could be reinforced (Reuters 15 July 1990).

Although favourably disposed toward the Tigers and Tamil nationalism, on 20 July 1990, M. Karunanidhi, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, officially requested the Prime Minister of India, V. P. Singh, to pressure the Sri Lankan government to set up refugee camps on its own territory (FBIS-NES-90-141 23 July 1990; The Hindu 4 Aug. 1990a). The Chief Minister also expressed his concern at seeing the Sri Lankan conflict claim victims in India (Inter Press Service 20 July 1990; The Economist 7 July 1990, 37). His fears were justified by the events of 19 June in Madras (Reuters 15 July 1990; The Times 11 July 1990). The Indian government then reacted with mass arrests of presumed Tamil militants in refugee camps in Tamil Nadu (FBIS-NES-90-119 20 June 1990b).

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