About 20,000 Sinhalese and Muslims who were evicted from the Northern Province by the LTTE 20 years ago and 300 Sri Lankan refugees living in Tamil Nadu, India are seeking to return to their villages in the North and East. The Ministry of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services has received applications from them.

Sri Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu had sent their applications through the UNHCR, Minister of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services, Risath Bathiyutheen told a press conference at the Parliamentary Complex yesterday.

In October 1990, nearly 75,000 Muslims and a few Sinhalese living in the Northern Province were evicted by the LTTE.

A majority of them had moved to the Puttalam district. Initially, they were housed in refugee camps, but since then, some have moved away or bought their own property in the district.

Minister Batthiyutheen said that the Ministry was studying the situation.

According to the Deputy High Commission of Sri Lanka in Chennai, there were 95,219 Sri Lankan refugees in 117 camps in Tamil Nadu as at February 14, 2008 and of them, 28,489 persons are identified as stateless. The majority had left the country due to LTTE terrorism, but wanted to return to Sri Lanka.