Keep Us Strong WikiLeaks logo

Currently released so far... 97115 / 251,287

Articles

Browse latest releases

Browse by creation date

Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
ETRD EAGR ETTC EAID ECON EFIN ECIN EINV ELAB EAIR ENRG EPET EWWT ECPS EIND EMIN ELTN EC ETMIN EUC EZ ET ELECTIONS ENVR EU EUN EG EINT ER ECONOMICS ES EMS ENIV EEB EN ECE ECOSOC EK ENVIRONMENT EFIS EI EWT ENGRD ECPSN EXIM EIAD ERIN ECPC EDEV ENGY ECTRD EPA ESTH ECCT EINVECON ENGR ERTD EUR EAP EWWC ELTD EL EXIMOPIC EXTERNAL ETRDEC ESCAP ECO EGAD ELNT ECONOMIC ENV ETRN EIAR EUMEM ENRGPARMOTRASENVKGHGPGOVECONTSPLEAID EREL ECOM ECONETRDEAGRJA ETCC ETRG ECONOMY EMED ETR ENERG EITC EFINOECD EURM EENG ERA EXPORT ENRD ECONEINVETRDEFINELABETRDKTDBPGOVOPIC EGEN EBRD EVIN ETRAD ECOWAS EFTA ECONETRDBESPAR EGOVSY EPIN EID ECONENRG EDRC ESENV ETT EB ENER ELTNSNAR ECHEVARRIA ETRC EPIT EDUC ESA EFI ENRGY ESCI EE EAIDXMXAXBXFFR EETC ECIP EIAID EIVN EBEXP ESTN EING EGOV ETRA EPETEIND ELAN ETRDGK EAIDRW ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS EPEC ENVI ELN EAG EPCS EPRT EPTED ETRB EUM EAIDS EFIC EFINECONEAIDUNGAGM EAIDAR ESF EIDN ELAM EDU EV EAIDAF ECN EDA EXBS EINTECPS ENRGTRGYETRDBEXPBTIOSZ EPREL EAC EINVEFIN ETA EAGER EINDIR ECA ECLAC ELAP EITI EUCOM ECONEFINETRDPGOVEAGRPTERKTFNKCRMEAID EARG ELDIN EINVKSCA ENNP EFINECONCS EFINTS ECCP ETC EAIRASECCASCID EINN ETRP EAIDNI EFQ ECOQKPKO EGPHUM EBUD ECONEINVEFINPGOVIZ ENERGY ELB EINDETRD EMI ECONEFIN EIB EURN ETRDEINVTINTCS EIN EFIM ETIO ELAINE EMN EATO EWTR EIPR EINVETC ETTD ETDR EIQ ECONCS EPPD ENRGIZ EISL ESPINOSA ELEC EAIG ESLCO EUREM ENTG ERD EINVECONSENVCSJA EEPET EUNCH ECINECONCS ETRO ETRDECONWTOCS ECUN EFND EPECO EAIRECONRP ERGR ETRDPGOV ECPN ENRGMO EPWR EET EAIS EAGRE EDUARDO EAGRRP EAIDPHUMPRELUG EICN ECONQH EVN EGHG ELBR EINF EAIDHO EENV ETEX ERNG ED
KMDR KPAO KPKO KJUS KCRM KGHG KFRD KWMN KDEM KTFN KHIV KGIC KIDE KSCA KNNP KHUM KIPR KSUM KISL KIRF KCOR KRCM KPAL KWBG KN KS KOMC KSEP KFLU KPWR KTIA KSEO KMPI KHLS KICC KSTH KMCA KVPR KPRM KE KU KZ KFLO KSAF KTIP KTEX KBCT KOCI KOLY KOR KAWC KACT KUNR KTDB KSTC KLIG KSKN KNN KCFE KCIP KGHA KHDP KPOW KUNC KDRL KV KPREL KCRS KPOL KRVC KRIM KGIT KWIR KT KIRC KOMO KRFD KUWAIT KG KFIN KSCI KTFIN KFTN KGOV KPRV KSAC KGIV KCRIM KPIR KSOC KBIO KW KGLB KMWN KPO KFSC KSEAO KSTCPL KSI KPRP KREC KFPC KUNH KCSA KMRS KNDP KR KICCPUR KPPAO KCSY KTBT KCIS KNEP KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KNNB KGCC KINR KPOP KMFO KENV KNAR KVIR KDRG KDMR KFCE KNAO KDEN KGCN KICA KIMMITT KMCC KLFU KMSG KSEC KUM KCUL KMNP KSMT KCOM KOMCSG KSPR KPMI KRAD KIND KCRP KAUST KWAWC KTER KCHG KRDP KPAS KITA KTSC KPAOPREL KWGB KIRP KJUST KMIG KLAB KTFR KSEI KSTT KAPO KSTS KLSO KWNN KPOA KHSA KNPP KPAONZ KBTS KWWW KY KJRE KPAOKMDRKE KCRCM KSCS KWMNCI KESO KWUN KPLS KIIP KEDEM KPAOY KRIF KGICKS KREF KTRD KFRDSOCIRO KTAO KJU KWMNPHUMPRELKPAOZW KEN KO KNEI KEMR KKIV KEAI KWAC KRCIM KWCI KFIU KWIC KCORR KOMS KNNO KPAI KBWG KTTB KTBD KTIALG KILS KFEM KTDM KESS KNUC KPA KOMCCO KCEM KRCS KWBGSY KNPPIS KNNPMNUC KWN KERG KLTN KALM KCCP KSUMPHUM KREL KGH KLIP KTLA KAWK KWMM KVRP KVRC KAID KSLG KDEMK KX KIF KNPR KCFC KFTFN KTFM KPDD KCERS KMOC KDEMAF KMEPI KEMS KDRM KEPREL KBTR KEDU KNP KIRL KNNR KMPT KISLPINR KTPN KA KJUSTH KPIN KDEV KTDD KAKA KFRP KWNM KTSD KINL KJUSKUNR KWWMN KECF KWBC KPRO KVBL KOM KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KEDM KFLD KLPM KRGY KNNF KICR KIFR KM KWMNCS KAWS KLAP KPAK KDDG KCGC KID KNSD KMPF KPFO KDP KCMR KRMS KNPT KNNNP KTIAPARM KDTB KNUP KPGOV KNAP KNNC KUK KSRE KREISLER KIVP KQ KTIAEUN KPALAOIS KRM KISLAO KWM KFLOA
PHUM PINR PTER PGOV PREL PREF PL PM PHSA PE PARM PINS PK PUNE PO PALESTINIAN PU PBTS PROP PTBS POL POLI PA PGOVZI POLMIL POLITICAL PARTIES POLM PD POLITICS POLICY PAS PMIL PINT PNAT PV PKO PPOL PERSONS PING PBIO PH PETR PARMS PRES PCON PETERS PRELBR PT PLAB PP PAK PDEM PKPA PSOCI PF PLO PTERM PJUS PSOE PELOSI PROPERTY PGOVPREL PARP PRL PNIR PHUMKPAL PG PREZ PGIC PBOV PAO PKK PROV PHSAK PHUMPREL PROTECTION PGOVBL PSI PRELPK PGOVENRG PUM PRELKPKO PATTY PSOC PRIVATIZATION PRELSP PGOVEAIDUKNOSWGMHUCANLLHFRSPITNZ PMIG PREC PAIGH PROG PSHA PARK PETER POG PHUS PPREL PS PTERPREL PRELPGOV POV PKPO PGOVECON POUS PGOVPRELPHUMPREFSMIGELABEAIDKCRMKWMN PWBG PMAR PREM PAR PNR PRELPGOVEAIDECONEINVBEXPSCULOIIPBTIO PARMIR PGOVGM PHUH PARTM PN PRE PTE PY POLUN PPEL PDOV PGOVSOCI PIRF PGOVPM PBST PRELEVU PGOR PBTSRU PRM PRELKPAOIZ PGVO PERL PGOC PAGR PMIN PHUMR PVIP PPD PGV PRAM PINL PKPAL PTERE PGOF PINO PHAS PODC PRHUM PHUMA PREO PPA PEPFAR PGO PRGOV PAC PRESL PORG PKFK PEPR PRELP PREFA PNG PGOVPHUMKPAO PRELECON PINOCHET PFOR PGOVLO PHUMBA PRELC PREK PHUME PHJM POLINT PGOVPZ PGOVKCRM PGOVE PHALANAGE PARTY PECON PEACE PROCESS PLN PRELSW PAHO PEDRO PRELA PASS PPAO PGPV PNUM PCUL PGGV PSA PGOVSMIGKCRMKWMNPHUMCVISKFRDCA PGIV PRFE POGOV PEL PBT PAMQ PINF PSEPC POSTS PHUMPGOV PVOV PHSAPREL PROLIFERATION PENA PRELTBIOBA PIN PRELL PGOVPTER PHAM PHYTRP PTEL PTERPGOV PHARM PROTESTS PRELAF PKBL PRELKPAO PKNP PARMP PHUML PFOV PERM PUOS PRELGOV PHUMPTER PARAGRAPH PERURENA PBTSEWWT PCI PETROL PINSO PINSCE PQL PEREZ PBS

Browse by classification

Community resources

courage is contagious

Viewing cable 09CHENNAI317, SRI LANKAN REFUGEES IN INDIA UNLIKELY TO RETURN ANYTIME

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs

Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
  • The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
  • The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
  • The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.

Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #09CHENNAI317.
Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09CHENNAI317 2009-10-30 05:03 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Consulate Chennai
VZCZCXRO4210
RR RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHLH RUEHNEH RUEHPW
DE RUEHCG #0317/01 3030503
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 300503Z OCT 09
FM AMCONSUL CHENNAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2513
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 CHENNAI 000317 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR PRM/ANE REBECCA KINSEY AND LIANA BROOKS-RUBIN 
 
KATHMANDU FOR MARK WEINBERG AND EILEEN SEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF PGOV PTER PHUM SOCI IN CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKAN REFUGEES IN INDIA UNLIKELY TO RETURN ANYTIME 
SOON DESPITE WAR'S END 
 
REFS:  A) CHENNAI 364 B) CHENNAI 362 C) CHENNAI 051 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary:  Despite the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of 
Tamil Eelam and cessation of hostilities in Sri Lanka, the Sri 
Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu are unlikely to return to their 
homeland anytime soon.  Release of internally displaced persons 
(IDPs) from confinement in IDP camps is a precondition to the 
refugees even considering return to the island.  Refugee fears of 
human rights abuses in Sri Lanka are another impediment; one that 
will be more difficult to address in the long term because the 
information sources on which the refugees rely stoke paranoia about 
the Rajapaksa government.  Finally, the length of time the refugees 
have spent in India (many have been here for more than 20 years) 
weighs against a quick return.  End summary. 
 
2.  (SBU) Pol/Econ officer met with a group of 46 Sri Lankan 
refugees to discuss their views on the possibility of returning to 
their homeland now that hostilities on the island nation have 
ceased.  The Organization for Eelam Refugee Rehabilitation (OfERR) 
pulled together a group drawn from the more than 70,000 Sri Lankan 
refugees that live in camps spread throughout Tamil Nadu.  Pol/Econ 
officer spent almost three hours asking and taking questions in a 
candid interchange with the refugees.  While virtually all expressed 
a longing to return Sri Lanka, they are taking the long view:  not 
one raised their hand when we asked if they believed that they would 
be back in Sri Lanka by 2015.  Their answers revealed that the 
conditions facing Sri Lanka's internally displaced Tamil population, 
security concerns, and distrust of the Rajapaksa government all 
stand in the way of the refugee population in India returning home 
to Sri Lanka. 
 
IDP camps are first obstacle 
------- 
 
3.  (SBU) Concern for Tamils interned in the IDP camps dominated the 
three hour session.  The refugees described the camps in Sri Lanka 
as "concentration camps" and "prisons."  Those refugees that had 
family members in the camps expressed concern for their well-being. 
They recited a litany of complaints about conditions in the camps, 
including lack of adequate food and water, overcrowding, and poor 
treatment by the Sri Lankan military.  In addition to concern for 
family members in the camps, fear of ending up there themselves is a 
significant bar to return.  Refugees from one camp said they spoke 
to a man from their camp who was sent to an IDP camp after he went 
back to Sri Lanka last month.  Gladston Xavier, an Indian social 
scientist who works closely with OfERR (and a former Fulbright 
grantee), told pol/econ officer "none of the refugees" from the 
north and east of Sri Lanka will consider returning while the IDP 
camps remain open. 
 
4.  (SBU) The refugees said they learned about conditions in the IDP 
camps by speaking to people in and around the camps.  One 
participant said that he had received a phone call from his daughter 
in one of the IDP camps earlier in the day.  According to Xavier, 
phones are not permitted in the camps, but a significant number of 
IDPs have them and communicate with their families in India. 
 
Looking to the world to guarantee their safety 
------- 
 
5.  (SBU) Xavier, who had led a workshop for the assembled refugees 
that preceded their meeting with pol/econ officer, said that 
emptying the IDP camps is necessary, but not sufficient to induce 
the refugees to return.  He said that the refugees feel that an 
"assurance of safety" and a "durable solution" are preconditions for 
their return to Sri Lanka.  Many of the refugees said that they 
expected the "international community" to guarantee their security 
before they would consider returning to Sri Lanka.  Some refugees 
were more specific about which members of the international 
community they looked to.  One woman said that the government of 
India must "make us believe that it is safe for us to go;" others 
told pol/economic officer that they wanted President Obama and the 
United States military to ensure their safety. 
 
6.  (SBU) The perception of widespread human rights violations in 
Sri Lanka animated the refugees' demand for an international 
guarantor of their safety.  A refugee said she feels that nothing 
has changed in Sri Lanka, citing the continued extrajudicial 
killings of Tamils.  One man said that he did not want to risk 
bringing his children to Sri Lanka, where they could be abducted by 
the "white vans."  Another man scoffed at the elections in the 
Northern Province, asking "how can you have an election when 300,000 
people are being held in camps?"  The refugees also mentioned the 
government of Sri Lanka's efforts to "colonize" and "occupy" 
formerly Tamil areas by moving Sinhalese people into them. 
 
 
CHENNAI 00000317  002 OF 003 
 
 
7.  (SBU) V. Suryanarayanan, a noted Sri Lanka analyst and member of 
India's National Security Advisory Board, agreed that the insecurity 
of Sri Lanka's Tamil population will deter the refugees from 
returning to the island.  He said that the "importance of security 
to the refugees is unquantifiable," noting that many of the Tamils 
who left Sri Lanka did so for the security of their children.  They 
will not return to the island, he said, until they know their 
children will be safe.  Suryanarayanan was pessimistic about when 
that day would come.  He said that he did not believe President 
Rajapaksa is capable of creating an environment that will draw the 
Tamil refugees back. 
 
Long-standing ties bind some to India 
------- 
 
8.  (SBU) The length of time the refugees have spent in India, with 
many of them having arrived in the late 1980s and early 1990s, 
weighs against a quick return to Sri Lanka.  At least three of the 
refugees offered the fact that they have been in India "for more 
than 20 years" as a reason to go slow when considering return to Sri 
Lanka.  Many refugees have married Indian citizens, and Xavier noted 
that women who have married Indian men are especially likely to stay 
in India permanently (but Sri Lankan men who have married Indian 
women are more likely to try to bring their Indian wives back to Sri 
Lanka).  Children born in India to refugees create a tough situation 
for refugee parents.  One woman said her Indian-born children told 
her that they would stay in India even if she went back to Sri 
Lanka, saying "you know about Sri Lanka but we don't know anything 
about it."  On the other hand, a twenty-year old refugee who was 
born in India told pol/econ officer that she wants to go back to Sri 
Lanka because India is only a "temporary place" to her. 
 
Unreliable sources fuel paranoia of Rajapaksa government 
------- 
 
9.  (SBU) The unreliable sources the refugees rely upon for news 
about Sri Lanka exacerbate their fears.  In addition to what Xavier 
described as "the same inflammatory" Tamil web sites (referring to 
websites like the pro-LTTE www.tamilnet.com and its Tamil language 
counterparts), the refugees get news from their families on the 
island, who are prone to exaggerating things according to Xavier. 
Absurd statements are accepted as fact:  one man credulously 
asserted that the Sri Lankan military had used nuclear weapons 
during the final assault on Mullaitivu.  Xavier said many of the 
refugees believe that the Sri Lankan military used chemical and 
biological weapons.  Rumors and conspiracy theories flow freely 
through the refugee community.  One refugee said families of 
captured LTTE fighters have been rounded up and disappeared. 
Another claimed that the Sri Lankan army was not providing 
sufficient food to the IDPs. 
 
UNHCR says resettlement will take time 
------- 
 
10.  (SBU) Vidjea Barathy, Associate Repatriation Officer, United 
Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR Chennai), whose office 
oversees the process of resettlement of Sri Lankan refugees, told 
post that approximately 500 refugees have chosen to return this 
year.  Barathy cautioned that this figure only includes official 
repatriations of Sri Lankans who have officially registered as 
refugees, but does not include returns from the substantial 
population of Sri Lankans living in India without official refugee 
status.  Barathy added that there has been a modest increase in 
returns since hostilities on the island ceased in May.  "But it is 
too early to tell whether this is a trend," he said.  All of the 
2009 repatriations have been to the Eastern province because the 
UNHCR does not send people back to the North except in cases of 
terminally ill refugees. 
 
11.  (SBU) Barathy does not expect a significant amount of 
resettlement of Sri Lankans in the near term.  "There will be no 
major movement before mid-2010 at the very earliest," according to 
Barathy, with the refugees waiting to see the IDP camps closed and 
how the returning IDPs are treated.  Barathy believes the return 
will be "phased," with recent arrivees returning sooner and 
long-term refugees waiting longer.  The process will "take some 
time, all 70,000 of them are not going to go back at once."  Barathy 
said that the refugees' assessment of the safety situation and their 
economic prospects will determine whether they return.  He believes 
that an active role by the Government of India will be crucial; the 
refugees need "some level of assurance" that India will be 
monitoring how the majority Sinhala community treats them when they 
are back in Sri Lanka. 
 
Comment:  no rush to return 
------- 
 
CHENNAI 00000317  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
12.  (SBU) Comment:  Although the war in Sri Lanka is over, the 
refugee community is not likely to return to Sri Lanka in 
substantial numbers any time soon.  Information flows freely between 
the island and Tamil Nadu, and the refugees do not like what they 
are hearing from their fellow Tamils back home.  Freeing the IDPs is 
necessary, but not sufficient on its own to convince the refugees 
that it is time to go home.  Mistrust of the Rajapaksa government's 
human rights record runs high, leading to perhaps unrealistic 
expectations that the international community will actively 
facilitate their safe reintegration in Sri Lanka.  Their long period 
of refuge -- many of the Sri Lankans have spent most or all of their 
lives in India -- has firmly rooted them in India.  India's 
government, especially the state, has been a generous host.  Tamil 
Nadu generally provides the refugees the same programs and services 
it does to its own citizens, including subsidized food, basic health 
care, and education.  The state even provides each refugee with a 
modest cash transfer payment each month, something it does not 
provide to its own citizens.  Post believes that the vast majority 
of the refugees are here to stay for at least a few years, and that 
a substantial number would stay permanently if given the 
opportunity.  End comment. 
 
DALTON