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Villagers flee to India as tension grips Mannar
By Marisa de Silva
Amidst fears that the spate of violence in the north could escalate into a full-scale war, hundreds of Sri Lankan Tamils are said to be fleeing their villages and seeking asylum in Tamil Nadu.

Reports from Tamil Nadu said a group consisting of seven women, eight men and nine children from Selvapuram and Olaithoduvai in Thailmannar had arrived in Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu and were being sheltered at the Mandapam camp. The refugees had claimed that they left the country because of harassment and intimidation by the Sri Lankan security forces.

The group had left their villages in a fiberglass boat on Wednesday and arrived at the Arisalpoint beach in Danushkodi in the night. From there, they had proceeded on to the Munhuntharayar Sathiram checkpoint. They were later handed over to the Rameshwaram Police.

Further inquiries conducted by the Indian police had revealed that each of the refugees had paid Rs. 10,000 for the passage. One of them told the police that more than 500 villagers from Mannar were awaiting boats to flee to India.
Mannar’s Bishop Rt. Rev. Rayappu Joseph said the situation in Mannar was very serious and that he together with the other local authorities were doing everything in their power to keep the situation under control and give the local community an assurance of security.

But he said it was imperative that Government officials and security forces heads in the area address the civil community in person and reassure them by guaranteeing their safety.

The Bishop claimed that the situation in Mannar turned worse after the Navy went berserk in a village in Pesalai in response to the LTTE claymore mine attack on Navy personnel on December 23. He said more than 20 people were hospitalised after they were assaulted by the Navy.

The Bishop also said the Navy cordoned off the area and did not even allow religious leaders or the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) personnel to enter the village. He said the villagers later sought sanctuary in the church and some 150 families were still living there.

Reports of civilians fleeing to India came as the government and the International Organisation of Migration continue with their efforts to facilitate the return of Sri Lankans who had gone to India during the earlier phase of the Eelam war. During the ceasefire period, some refugees had returned illegally via Mannar.

The IOM with funding from Australia.has been assisting Sri Lankan refugees return to their homeland from India since 2003. So far it has facilitated the return of some 3,000 refugees.

“At this point, we do not have enough information on the motivation behind their decision to leave. There could be a variety of reasons for this and IOM is coordinating with UNHCR to find out more details,” an IOM official said commenting on the latest refugee influx to Tamil Nadu.

“It is too early to say whether it will have any adverse impact on IOM’s programme. We are closely monitoring the situation,” he said. Meanwhile, Lyndon Jeffels, Public Information Officer of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), declined to comment on the latest situation saying the UNHCR didn’t have adequate information to make a comment at this stage.

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