Sri Lanka appoints committee to facilitate return of Refugees in India

COLOMBO (News 1st); A committee was appointed by President's Secretary Saman Ekanayake to facilitate and efficiently carry out the process of repatriation of Sri Lankans who have gone to India as refugees due to the war, said the President's Media Division.

The committee is headed by Ms. Chandima Wickramasinghe, Additional Secretary to the President, and the other members are the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration, senior official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, senior official of the Registrar General's Department and a senior official of the Ministry of Justice.

This decision was reached during the discussion held on Monday (05) at the President's Office under the chairmanship of the President's Secretary Saman Ekanayake at the request of the Organization for Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation (OFERR), to bring back the Sri Lankans who have gone to India as refugees due to the war.

It was stated that about 58,000 Sri Lankans are currently residing in Tamil Nadu, India as refugees and only 3,800 of them are ready to return to Sri Lanka at present. The Sri Lanka Deputy High Commissioner’s Office in Chennai is coordinating the efforts in this regard.