COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office

7 MARCH 2012 SRI LANKA
see:http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-30/south-asia/30229609_1_ltte-fightersltte-guerrillas-vocational-training
It remains the view of humanitarian and aid agencies that the Sri Lankan government could
have managed the situation regarding ex-LTTE cadres considerably better. Their initial
reluctance to release details of those detained or allow access to the detention camps did not
enhance their position with the international community. The head of one international agency
has told me that the government could have done a lot to improve the way they are perceived.
They should for example have publicised the fact that many of those detained had already
received visitors. His organisation had been trying to encourage them to be more transparent, to
publish lists of those persons detained and advertise initiatives that they had already taken. The
international community however saw the reluctance of the Sri Lankan government to allow the
ICRC access to the camps as a major hurdle in moving forward.
The Government appears to accept that post release reintegration has been problematic.
Promised packages for ex-combatants on release had not actually been provided, nor had cash
or other assistance. Economic regeneration in the northern former LTTE held areas is very slow
with a lack of investors. The Government claim that over 1,000 job opportunities had been
identified in the Colombo area but very few people were prepared to move there. There is
freedom of movement for all Sri Lankans throughout the country but many choose to remain in
their homelands, or seek to move abroad. Many of those released had returned to heavily
militarised areas of the north and were being monitored for ‗the security of themselves and the
community‘. There have been several media stories regarding the re-arrest of some exdetainees,
although the Government have claimed that these were for criminal offences
committed post release.
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Second secretary (Migration)
This letter has been compiled by staff of the British High Commission in Colombo
entirely from information obtained from the sources indicated. The letter does not reflect
the opinions of the author, nor any policy of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The
author has compiled this letter in response to a request from UKBA and any further
enquiries regarding its contents should be directed to UKBA.
The main text of this COI Report contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 3 February 2012.
Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section
to 2 March 2012.
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