COLOMBO, Nov 04, 2009 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- The Sri Lankan government said Wednesday that about 20,000 people evicted from the Northern Province of Sri Lanka by Tamil Tiger rebels 20 years ago are seeking to return to their villages in the Northern Province.
Minister of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services Risath Bathiyutheen told reporters that about 300 Sri Lankan refugees living in the southern India state of Tamil Nadu have also submitted application to return home following the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
In October 1990, nearly 75,000 Muslims and few number of Sinhalese lived in the Northern Province were forcibly evicted with 48 hours notice by the LTTE, with orders to leave behind their belongings and properties.
A majority of those evicted ended up in the Puttalam district of the North Western Province of Sri Lanka.
Batthiyutheen said that the ministry was studying the situation before making a final decision.
He said there are 95,219 Sri Lankan refugees in 117 camps in Tamil Nadu as at Feb. 14, 2008 and out of them 28,489 persons are identified as stateless.
The majority had left the country due to LTTE terrorism, but now they want to return to Sri Lanka, said the minister.
