1st batch of 3K refugees to return soon: Sri Lankan Foreign Minister

The process of repatriation, he told, was discussed with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during their meeting on Thursday. The first batch has been identified, he said, but refused to give a timeline for the return. “Name and numbers have to be scrutinised. That will be done very fast by Sri Lanka,” he said.

There are around 90,000 Tamil refugees in India. Sources have said Sri Lanka could take back as many as 60,000. The other 30,000 now have families or work in India and some have also been naturalised so may not head back toSri Lanka.

As for the confidence building efforts before repatriation, the Minister said that there was an established organisation led by Chandra Hasan in Jaffna that has been closely working with refugees and are facilitating efforts on the ground and also monitoring the process.

As for when the other refugees would make their way back, he said, “these are citizens who are returning and the process of reconciliation is also an important matter in which India has been giving us support to expedite so the numbers will be moving as per the agreement and understanding.”

The issue of fishermen and confiscated boats was also discussed.