UNHCR turns away would-be refugees

MANNAR officers of international refugee agency UNHCR have refused to offer= accommodation to those refugees who attempted to flee to India. Seventy= Tamil refugees who were produced before the Mannar magistrate in November= had paid Rs 10,000 each to go to India, but the boatman had taken them only= up to the Talaimannar Naval base. Many of the refugees are from Jaffna and= say they decided to flee after reports of Army atrocities in the= peninsula.

UNHCR officials are reported to have said that many= refugees left Pesalai camp on Mannar Island without informing the agency.= The camp in future will accommodate only those who wish to live in Sri= Lanka permanently.

But many refugees in Tamil Nadu from Pesalai camp= say they decided to seek safety after UNHCR officials declared that their= safety could not be guaranteed after fighting between the Army and the LTTE= on the island in August.

There are 30,600 people belonging to 8,200= families on Army-controlled Mannar Island. Around 2,100 families are= entitled to dry rations from the government. Reports say 320 tonnes of food= a month is needed for the population. All food has to arrive by boats from= Kalpitty in Puttalam District or Colombo. LTTE attacks and boat hijacks= have badly hit the fragile lifeline. Currently food can be transported only= with naval security and only 20 boats have been permitted to operate= between Kalpitty and Mannar.

Difficult conditions on Mannar Island= force many people to flee to India. Over 8,000 new refugees have arrived in= Tamil Nadu since August. Another 56,000 are in government camps and 100,000= live outside.

Indian authorities fear LTTE infiltration with the= refugee flow. Tamil Nadu police Law and Order chief P Kalimuthu says= details of refugees and their fingerprints are sent to Sri Lanka and= checked before admission to camps.

The Tamil Nadu government has set= up a 2,000-strong border patrol force. Mr Kalimuthu says the 1,000km Tamil= Nadu coast is constantly patrolled. Ten divisions of the state=92s Special= Police and four divisions of central government Reserve Police are= involved in security.

Reports say a smuggling operation to Sri Lanka= from Vattanam was smashed by customs officers on 6 November. Six people= were arrested. Six other Tiger suspects were taken into custody in Madurai= and Trichy on 20 November.

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