Tamil Nadu – Sri Lankan Tamils – LTTE – Police

Refugee Review Tribunal AUSTRALIA

RRT RESEARCH RESPONSE

Research Response Number: IND35727 Country: India Date: 1 December 2009

Keywords: India – Tamil Nadu – Sri Lankan Tamils – LTTE – Police

This response was prepared by the Research & Information Services Section of the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the RRT within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. This research response may not, under any circumstance, be cited in a decision or any other document. Anyone wishing to use this information may only cite the primary source material contained herein.

Question

1. Is there any information on how many Sri Lankans, without Indian citizenship, are living in Tamil Nadu? What is the attitude of the local authorities towards Sri Lankan Tamils? Are persons being arrested as suspected LTTE supporters? If so what kind of profile do the arrested persons have?

RESPONSE

Introductory Overview A November 2009 article by Dr V. Suryanarayan, of the Centre for South and Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Madras, has provided a substantive overview of the situation of the thousands of ethnic Tamil Sri Lankans currently living in Tamil Nadu, noting that: “The Sri Lankan Tamils in Tamil Nadu can be divided into four categories. 1) Refugees in the camps; 2) Recognised refugees outside the camps, 3) Sri Lankan nationals and 4) Tamil militants detained in Special Camps”. The article relates that: “According to Tamil Nadu Government, there are 73,241 persons belonging to 19,340 families, who live in 115 camps in 26 districts. …There are [also] 31,802 refugees who live outside the camps”.1 Additionally, there are “Sri Lankan nationals who live in Tamil Nadu. They come to Tamil

1 Suryanarayan, V. 2009, „Sri Lanka: Focus on The Sri Lankan Tamil Refugees‟, South Asia Analysis Group website, 13 November http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers36%5Cpaper3502.html – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 1. Nadu with valid travel documents and live in the State with their own means. They are required to register themselves with the nearest police station. Some of them continue to live in Tamil Nadu even after the expiry of the visas. …According to informed sources, under this category there will be nearly 80,000 people living in various parts of the State”. The report also relates that: “Those Sri Lankans, who have alleged links with the militant groups, are kept in Special camp in Chengalpet. According to informed sources, there are nearly 50 Sri Lankans who are detained in the Special Camp”; and that: “Living conditions in the Special camp are abominable and the National Human Rights Commission has drawn the attention of the State Government to improve the living conditions”.

An August 2009 article which appeared in the Indian weekly Tehelka Magazine reports slightly different estimates “from the state‟s Department of Rehabilitation, [to the effect that] there are 1,01,086 [sic] refugees in Tamil Nadu. While 73,600 are housed in 113 government- run camps, 27,467 are living outside camps and are registered at police stations; about 101 suspected militants are detained in two special camps”.2 According to Tehelka Magazine conditions in the asylum seeker government-run camps are generally “miserable” and most “camps lack basic amenities”, something also noted by a number of other sources (see below). Even so, the Tehelka Magazine report goes on to find that: “Many refugees lead a comparatively [sic] settled life in India. Though spartan, the conditions of the refugees, appears favourable compared to the reports from Sri Lanka, where people are kept inside barbed wire enclosures”. In May 2009 Calcutta‟s The Telegraph reported similarly, relating that there are “around 80,000 Sri Lankan refugees living in 113 camps spread across 25 districts in Tamil Nadu”.3 The same report relates that: “According to some estimates, anywhere between 30,000 and 70,000 refugees have either taken up Indian citizenship in the early Nineties or simply melted into the population”. The aforementioned Dr V. Suryanarayan reportedly told The Telegraph that: “The ethnic similarity between Indian and Sri Lankan Tamils is so great that many of them have become Indian citizens through illegal means”.

Some sources4 have claimed that Sri Lankan Tamils living in camps can be subject to intimidation, extortion and arbitrary detention by the “Q Branch”5 officers of the Tamil Nadu

2 Vinoj Kumar, P.C. 2009, „Greener Grass On This Side‟, Tehelka Magazine, vol.6: no.30, 1 August http://www.tehelka.com/story_main42.asp?filename=Ne010809greener_grass.asp – Accessed 1 December 2009 – Attachment 48. 3 Kumara Swamy, V. 2009, „Nowhere people‟, The Telegraph, 10 May http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090510/jsp/7days/story_10942916.jsp – Accessed 1 December 2009 – Attachment 50. 4 See the section „VII. Sri Lankan Refugees in India‟ over pages 116-119, in: Acharya, A.K. 2007, „Ethnic Conflict and Refugees in Sri Lanka‟, Revista de Antropología Experimental, Universidad de Jean website, No.7: Texto 9: pp.107-121 http://www.ujaen.es/huesped/rae/articulos2007/acharya0907.pdf – Accessed 30 November 2009 – Attachment 38; and: Nadar, A.G. 2009, „Tamil or Lankan bullets don‟t matter‟, Rediff News, 1 May http://news.rediff.com/special/2009/may/01/tamil-refugees-speak-about-events-in-sri-lanka.htm – Accessed 30 November 2009 – Attachment 40; Karthik R.M. 2009, „My Investigative Project on Mandapam Camp‟, Unceasing Waves Blog: Wordpress website, 31 August http://karthikrm.wordpress.com/2009/08/ – Accessed 1 December 2009 – Attachment 46. 5 In December 2007 the Australian post in New Delhi reported that: “The post has been advised that the Q Branch of Tamil Nadu is a wing of the state police that deals with prevention of militant and extremist activities”, see: DIAC Country Information Service 2007, India Country Information Report No. 07/86 – Alert Lists at Indian Airports, (sourced from DFAT advice of 4 December 2007), 4 December – Attachment 45. police (for more on which, see page 7 below) but corroborating reports would not appear to have been made by more noted commentators like the US Committee on Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI). While monitoring of Sri Lankan Tamils reportedly does occur, and while there have been recent reports of Sri Lankan Tamils in camps complaining about living conditions and the continued practice of having to report to Tamil Nadu police6, it would not appear that such monitoring is part of a broader program of mistreatment for Sri Lankan Tamils in Tamil Nadu. As will be apparent from the figures cited above, it would appear that comparatively few Sri Lankans have been detained as a consequence of a perceived association with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).7 While the Tamil Nadu police have reportedly arrested a number of persons suspected of acting in support of the LTTE (the South Asia Terrorism Portal lists around fifty such incidents for the period 2007 to the present day)8 it would appear that such arrests have usually involved either persons suspected of a high level of LTTE involvement and/or persons suspected of supplying the LTTE with military materiel.9

There have, additionally, been widely reported incidents in which certain prominent persons in Tamil Nadu have been arrested for speaking out in support of the LTTE10, though it would

6 „Sri Lankan Tamil refugees wish for Indian citizenship 2009, The Hindu, 3 November http://beta.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article42734.ece – Accessed 16 November 2009 – Attachment 5; „Tamil Nadu govt. to review living conditions of Sri Lankan Tamils‟ 2009, Trak.in News, source: ANI, 3 November http://trak.in/news/tamil-nadu-govt-to-review-living-conditions-of- sri-lankan-tamils/19619/ – Accessed 16 November 2009 – Attachment 6; „Tamil Nadu MPs return from Sri Lankan Tamil camps‟ 2009, India eNews, 14 October http://www.indiaenews.com/india/20091014/227141.htm – Accessed 16 November 2009 – Attachment 7. 7 Suryanarayan, V. 2009, „Sri Lanka: Focus on The Sri Lankan Tamil Refugees‟, South Asia Analysis Group website, 13 November http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers36%5Cpaper3502.html – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 1. 8 „Terrorism-related incidents in Tamil Nadu, 2007-2009‟ (undated), South Asia Terrorism Portal website http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/database/tamilnadu.htm – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 14. 9 See for example: „India breaks another LTTE weapon smuggling ring‟ 2009, Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN Office at Geneva, 6 April http://www.lankamission.org/content/view/1920/9/ – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 9; Kumar, S.V. 2009, „Police crackdown to prevent distribution of pro-LTTE CDs‟, the Hindu, 13 April http://www.hindu.com/2009/04/13/stories/2009041359860800.htm – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 10; Sathish Anand, C.S. 2008, „Tamil Nadu cops “strangulating” Tigers‟, Rediff News, 30 September http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/sep/30ltte.htm – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 11; Narayan Swamy, M.R. 2008, „Tamil Nadu arrests betray LTTE dependence on India‟, Thaindian, source: IANS, 8 August http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/tamil-nadu- arrests-betray-ltte-dependence-on-india_10081365.html – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 12; „LTTE cadre held in Tamil Nadu‟ 2008, Thaindian, source: IANS, 31 July http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/ltte-cadre-held-in-tamil-nadu_10077999.html – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 13. 10 See for example: „MDMK leader Vaiko arrested for making pro-LTTE speech‟ 2008, Times of India, 24 October http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/MDMK-leader-Vaiko-arrested-for- making-pro-LTTE-speech/articleshow/3633554.cms – Accessed 30 November 2009 – Attachment 32; „Seeman arrested again for inflammatory talk‟ 2008, Express Buzz, 20 December http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Seeman+arrested+again+for+inflammatory+tal k&artid=0TQtVhQ4trc=&SectionID=vBlkz7JCFvA=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionNam e=EL7znOtxBM3qzgMyXZKtxw==&SEO= – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 15; „Pro- LTTE group leader arrested for justifying Rajiv Gandhis murder‟ 2009, Thaindian, source: ANI, 2 not appear that being sympathetic towards the LTTE is likely, in and of itself, to result in a person‟s arrest in every-day circumstances. Indeed, it has recently been reported that, according to an opinion poll conducted by NDTV, the “majority of people in Tamil Nadu want the government to support the outlawed Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka”.11

Moreover, while the Indian National Congress (INC or Congress) led central government and Tamil Nadu‟s ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) have taken a hard line stance on the LTTE12, and while “[a]round 100 coastal police stations have been set up to ensure no [further] Tamil refugee tries to enter Tamil Nadu”13, the cause of the Tamil Sri Lankans remains so broadly popular in the majority Tamil state of Tamil Nadu that both the Congress and the DMK have been careful to assure the Tamil Nadu electorate that the welfare of ethnic Tamil Sri Lankans in both Sri Lanka and India is a priority for both the Indian national and Tamil Nadu state governments.14 Pledges by the DMK led Tamil Nadu state government to do more for Sri Lankan Tamils living in Tamil Nadu camps have been particularly prominent in recent months15 and Suryanarayan‟s article notes that: Tamil Nadu‟s “Chief Minister [has]

March http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/pro-ltte-group-leader-arrested-for-justifying- rajiv-gandhis-murder_100161794.html – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 16. 11 „Majority in Tamil Nadu favours backing LTTE: Poll‟ 2009, Thaindian, source: IANS, 1 April http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/majority-in-tamil-nadu-favours-backing-ltte- poll_100173876.html – Accessed 30 November 2009 – Attachment 27. 12 Narayan Swamy, M.R. 2009, „In Tamil Nadu Politics, Wheel has Turned Full Circle Over Sri Lanka‟, Boloji.com website, source: IANS, 28 April http://news.boloji.com/2009/04/29860.htm – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 24; Subramanian, T.S. 2009, „Election fodder‟, Frontline, vol.26: no.10, 9-22 May http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2610/stories/20090522261002200.htm – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 25; and: Cherian, J. „The Indian stand‟, Frontline, vol.26: no.4, 14-27 February http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2604/stories/20090227260401700.htm – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 26. 13 Raman, S. 2009, „“Sri Lanka factor” in Tamil Nadu poll‟, BBC News, 11 May http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8043588.stm – Accessed 30 November 2009 – Attachment 28; according to a May 2008 Press Trust of India: “In the wake of escalation of hostilities between Sri Lankan security forces and the LTTE, the Indian Navy, Coast Guard and intelligence agencies…stepped up vigil along the Tamil Nadu coast as well as the 21 islands in the Palk Straits”; even so: “As many as 262 refugees had arrived from 12 May till Thursday [15 May]”, see: „India/Sri Lanka: India steps up vigil along south coast after rise in Sri Lanka clashes‟ 2008, BBC Monitoring Service, source: Press Trust of India, 15 May – Attachment 44. 14 Which is not to say that the recent polls in Tamil Nadu necessarily turned on this issue, indeed many analysts think other matters to be much more important to the Tamil Nadu voter, but most sources agree that the parties themselves are very concerned about their appearance to the Tamil Nadu electorate in this regard, see: Dhillon, A. 2009, „Indian parties play Tamil card‟, Al Jazeera, 25 April http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/indiaelections/2009/04/200942583042145193.html – Accessed 30 November 2009 – Attachment 33; „Parties set to make Lankan Tamils matter poll issue‟ 2009, Times of India, 12 April http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Parties-set-to-make-Lankan-Tamils-matter- poll-issue/articleshow/4391024.cms – Accessed 30 November 2009 – Attachment 34; and: Krishnakumar, P. 2009, „Why Tamil Nadu chose DMK, rejected Congress‟, Rediff News, 16 May http://election.rediff.com/report/2009/may/16/loksabhapoll-why-tamil-nadu-rejected-congress.htm – Accessed 30 November 2009 – Attachment 35. 15 „Chief Minister lists measures taken for Sri Lankan refugees‟ 2009, The Hindu, 24 November http://www.thehindu.com/2009/11/24/stories/2009112453920400.htm – Accessed 30 November 2009 – Attachment 42; „Karunanidhi‟s 12 crores for Sri Lankan refugees‟ 2009, NDTV, 3 November http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/tamil_nadu_relief_package_for_lankan_refugees.php – Accessed 30 November 2009 – Attachment 43. demanded that the refugees should be accorded the status of permanent residents”; and that: “the present policy of the Government of India, supported by the State Government, is not to pressurize the refugees to return to the island immediately”.16 While there is much debate in Tamil Nadu state politics about which party is the more genuinely, and effectively, concerned for the welfare of Sri Lankan Tamils17, it would not appear that any of the major political players in Tamil Nadu state politics have been accused of engaging in any kind of broad campaign against this group, be they living inside or outside the camps.

Further Information Should it be required, further information on the issues covered above follows below under the following subheadings:

 The general situation of ethnic Tamil Sri Lankans in Tamil Nadu;  LTTE related arrests in Tamil Nadu and the profiles of those arrested;  Expressing support for the LTTE in Tamil Nadu;  Tamil Nadu politics and attitudes towards the LTTE and Sri Lankan Tamils

The general situation of ethnic Tamil Sri Lankans in Tamil Nadu No further substantive information could be located on the situation of Tamils of Sri Lankan origin who are living in the broader Tamil Nadu community, with or without Indian citizenship. Information is available, however, on the circumstances of Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers who are living in various camps in Tamil Nadu state having fled the conflict which has, until recently, affected Sri Lanka. On 17 June 2009 the US Committee on Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) reported that: “India hosted around 456,000 refugees, including about 96,000 Sri Lankans, mostly Tamils fleeing fighting between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and Sri Lankan armed forces”. 18 According to the USCRI: “India maintains administrative detention camps in Tamil Nadu for suspected Sri Lankan militants”; however: “Other Sri Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu can move freely in the neighborhoods of the camps, but are under police surveillance and must return for roll calls every evening”. The US Department of State has reported similarly in its most recent report on human rights in India (published 25 February 2009) stating that: “As of September 8, a total of 73,536 Sri Lankan refugees resided in 117 refugee camps throughout Tamil Nadu”; that: “The refugees were free to move in and out of the camps, but they had to return for periodic roll calls”; and

16 Suryanarayan, V. 2009, „Sri Lanka: Focus on The Sri Lankan Tamil Refugees‟, South Asia Analysis Group website, 13 November http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers36%5Cpaper3502.html – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 1. 17 Raman, B. 2009, „TN politicians don‟t care about Sri Lankan Tamil‟, Rediff News, 12 May http://election.rediff.com/column/2009/may/12/guest-tn-politicians-dont-care-about-sri-lankan- tamils.htm – Accessed 30 November 2009 – Attachment 36; Kumar, A. 2009, „Tamil Nadu parties posture over plight of Sri Lankan Tamils‟, World Socialist website, 2 May http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/may2009/indi-m02.shtml – Accessed 30 November 2009 – Attachment 37. 18 United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants 2009, „World Refugee Survey 2009 – India‟, 17 June http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4a40d2a75d.html – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 2. that: “The refugees were subject to surveillance by police”.19 In June 2006 the Research Directorate reported on the manner in which “Sri Lankan asylum seekers undergo a screening process” for LTTE connections upon “arrival in India”.20 Following local reporting on such matters the Research Directorate related that the process “involves questioning and physical checks for conflict-related scars in order to ascertain whether they may have had ties to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) (Indian Express 22 Jan. 2006)”; and that: “following the screening, they are quarantined for approximately one month”. 21 While monitoring of Sri Lankan Tamils reportedly does occur, and while there have been recent reports of Sri Lankan Tamils in camps complaining of the continued practice having to report to Tamil Nadu police22, it would not appear that such monitoring is part of a broader program of mistreatment for Sri Lankan Tamils in Tamil Nadu. The US Department of State notes that: “The central government and the state of Tamil Nadu jointly provided monthly cash payments and food subsidies to the refugees”; and that: “Refugee children generally were enrolled in local school”.23 The USCRI similarly notes that: “The State Government of Tamil Nadu government gives registered adult Sri Lankan refugees food subsidies and 800 rupees (about $16) a month”. 24 The November 2009 Suryanarayan report notes that: “the present policy of the Government of India, supported by the State Government, is not to pressurize the refugees to return to the island immediately”; that: “the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has asked his cabinet colleagues to visit the refugee camps scattered throughout the State and submit status reports regarding the living conditions of the refugees”; and that: “The Chief Minister announced that Rs 12 crores will be spent to improve the living

19 US Department of State 2009, 2008 Human Rights Reports: India, „Protection of Refugees‟, 25 February – Attachment 3. 20 Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada 2006, IND101397.E – India: Treatment and status of Sri Lankan Tamils who flee to India; whether they are granted any type of status; procedures to be followed if status is revoked and/or authorities wish to remove the person from India and recourse available; whether they receive assistance or are allowed to work; whether they are monitored by authorities (1990 – 2006), 30 June http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/45f1474e14.html – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 4. 21 In August 2006 Indian Express reported as follows of the screening procedures noting that incoming Sri Lankan asylum seekers are checked for “wartime scars” as markers of possible LTTE involvement: “On landing in Tamil Nadu, the refugees are first rounded up by the Indian navy and coast guard personnel, questioned and later escorted to Moonramchathiram, near Dhanushkodi, where the state special branch and Intelligence agencies‟ personnel record the newcomers‟ personal details. “They are checked for wartime scars. If we suspect that any of them were or are LTTE cadres, they are sent to the special camps for militants in Chenglepet or Vellore,” says an IB sleuth.” See: „Beach Landing‟ 2006, Indian Express, 26 August http://www.indianexpress.com/news/beach- landing/11442/0 – Accessed 1 December 2009 – Attachment 49. 22 „Sri Lankan Tamil refugees wish for Indian citizenship 2009, The Hindu, 3 November http://beta.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article42734.ece – Accessed 16 November 2009 – Attachment 5; „Tamil Nadu govt. to review living conditions of Sri Lankan Tamils‟ 2009, Trak.in News, source: ANI, 3 November http://trak.in/news/tamil-nadu-govt-to-review-living-conditions-of- sri-lankan-tamils/19619/ – Accessed 16 November 2009 – Attachment 6; „Tamil Nadu MPs return from Sri Lankan Tamil camps‟ 2009, India eNews, 14 October http://www.indiaenews.com/india/20091014/227141.htm – Accessed 16 November 2009 – Attachment 7; 23 US Department of State 2009, 2008 Human Rights Reports: India, „Protection of Refugees‟, 25 February – Attachment 3. 24 United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants 2009, „World Refugee Survey 2009 – India‟, 17 June http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4a40d2a75d.html – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 2. conditions in the refugee camps”. 25 In June 2009 it was reported that “29,489 Sri Lankans in Tamil Nadu” are to be granted Indian citizenship. The report relates that a number of Sri Lankan‟s in India “became „stateless‟ as a result of an act brought by the UNP in 1949” and that the move to grant citizenship would affect these people.26 As is noted above, some sources have claimed that Sri Lankan Tamils can be subject to intimidation, extortion and arbitrary detention by the “Q Branch” officers of the Tamil Nadu police. A 2007 study of the situation of Sri Lankan Tamils claims of the situation in the Tamil Nadu camps that: “Any refugee with any wound or a scar is branded as a militant and sent to the special refugee camp”; that: “Some corrupt police treats [sic] the refugees with an oppressive attitude, they arbitrarily decide who should go to the special refugee camp, and they asked the money and belongings. If the refugees fail to pay up the bribe demanded by cops they may end up in the special refugee camps as „suspected militants‟”; and that: “if anybody protests against the bad food and degrading living condition runs the risk of being branded as a militant and sent to the „special refugee camp‟”.27 Corroboration of such claims by other sources proved difficult to find though a May 2009 report by Rediff News refers to a journalist‟s visit to “Gumidipoondi camp outside Chennai” during which an “inspector of the Tamil Nadu police‟s „Q‟ branch” was observed intimidating the Sri Lankan Tamil residents.28 In a similar manner an August 2009 article reports that “Mandapam refugee camp is strictly off limits to the media and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO)”; and that: “The constant patrolling of the police and the omnipresence of the Q branch make it almost impossible for outsiders to enter the camp without being noticed”.29 It may also be of interest that in February 2007 Lanka Newspapers reported that: “The Tamil Nadu police has launched a state-wide door-to-door verification of nearly one hundred thousand Sri Lankan Tamil refugees living in the southern Indian state”; and that: “Reports reaching here from state capital Chennai have quoted unidentified „highly placed sources‟ as saying that the massive, census-like, exercise is being carried out by the Q branch with the help of the police all over the state”.30 As is noted above, it would not appear that such claims

25 Suryanarayan, V. 2009, „Sri Lanka: Focus on The Sri Lankan Tamil Refugees‟, South Asia Analysis Group website, 13 November http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers36%5Cpaper3502.html – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 1. 26 Lalith 2009, „Citizenship to 29,489 Sri Lankans in Tamil Nadu refugee camps‟, Now Public website, 25 June http://www.nowpublic.com/world/citizenship-29-489-sri-lankans-tamil-nadu- refugee-camps – Accessed 16 November 2009 – Attachment 8. 27 See the section „VII. Sri Lankan Refugees in India‟ over pages 116-119, in: Acharya, A.K. 2007, „Ethnic Conflict and Refugees in Sri Lanka‟, Revista de Antropología Experimental, Universidad de Jean website, No.7: Texto 9: pp.107-121 http://www.ujaen.es/huesped/rae/articulos2007/acharya0907.pdf – Accessed 30 November 2009 – Attachment 38. 28 “He asks us to leave the camp immediately and shouts at the refugees for speaking to us. We can see the refugees are intimidated by him, they refuse to let their names be included in this report”, see: Nadar, A.G. 2009, „Tamil or Lankan bullets don‟t matter‟, Rediff News, 1 May http://news.rediff.com/special/2009/may/01/tamil-refugees-speak-about-events-in-sri-lanka.htm – Accessed 30 November 2009 – Attachment 40. 29 Karthik R.M. 2009, „My Investigative Project on Mandapam Camp‟, Unceasing Waves Blog: Wordpress website, 31 August http://karthikrm.wordpress.com/2009/08/ – Accessed 1 December 2009 – Attachment 46. 30 „Tamil Nadu police launch door-to-door verification of over 100,000 Lankan refugees‟ 2007, Lanka Newspapers, 24 February http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2007/2/12605.html – Accessed 30 November 2009 – Attachment 39. have been corroborated by the reports of noted refugee issue commentators like the USCRI31.32 There is also some information to suggest that the ability of the Tamil Nadu authorities to monitor the movements of Sri Lankan asylum seekers is somewhat limited. In May 2008 the Press Trust of India reported as follows of the manner in which hundreds of Sri Lankan “refugees” were missing from Mandapam camp because “there was no mechanism to follow their movements when they went out for work”.33

LTTE related arrests in Tamil Nadu and the profiles of those arrested Reports of the arrest of persons suspected of involvement in LTTE have appeared regularly in the recent year. In such instances, the arrests would appear to have involved persons suspected of close involvement in LTTE operations either in terms of command34, the supply of materiel35, or the dissemination of propaganda. 36 Many of the arrests have occurred at sea as a result of the interdiction by Indian security forces of boats allegedly running supplies from southern India to the LTTE.37 Examples of reports of non-maritime LTTE related arrests in Tamil Nadu follow below. No reports could be located which reported any claims of Sri Lankan Tamil communities in Tamil Nadu complaining of being profiled or harassed over such matters. Indian as well as Sri Lankan Tamils have been subject to arrest in such incidents.  On 6 April 2009 the Indo-Asian News Service reported that: “India has broken yet another Tamil Tiger ring that sought to smuggle war material to the rebels, arresting four men including a British national of Sri Lankan origin in Chennai”, in what was “first crackdown on the LTTE this year in Tamil Nadu”. Two of the arrested men were reported to be “Indians…linked to the Vidhuthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), a pro-LTTE group in Tamil Nadu that is now allied to Tamil Nadu‟s ruling DMK”. The final man was reportedly an “LTTE activist” who “belonged to Mullaitivu in Sri Lanka‟s north – where the LTTE is waging a last-ditch battle to save itself from

31 United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants 2009, „World Refugee Survey 2009 – India‟, 17 June http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4a40d2a75d.html – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 2. 32 Though it should be noted that police extortion is reported to be a widespread problem throughout India, see pp.16-17: Human Rights Watch 2009, Broken System: Dysfunction, Abuse, and Impunity in the Indian Police, August – Attachment 41; for an overview of the kinds of excesses reported of Tamil Nadu police specifically, see: Asian Centre for Human Rights 2008, Indian Human Rights Report 2008 – Tamil Nadu, December http://www.achrweb.org/reports/india/AR08/tamil.html – Accessed 1 December 2009 – Attachment 47. 33 The report goes on to relate that: “The Q branch police had been informed about the missing refugees”, see: „India/Sri Lanka: India steps up vigil along south coast after rise in Sri Lanka clashes‟ 2008, BBC Monitoring Service, source: Press Trust of India, 15 May – Attachment 45. 34 „LTTE cadre held in Tamil Nadu‟ 2008, Thaindian, source: IANS, 31 July http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/ltte-cadre-held-in-tamil-nadu_10077999.html – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 13. 35 „India breaks another LTTE weapon smuggling ring‟ 2009, Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN Office at Geneva, 6 April http://www.lankamission.org/content/view/1920/9/ – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 9. 36 Kumar, S.V. 2009, „Police crackdown to prevent distribution of pro-LTTE CDs‟, the Hindu, 13 April http://www.hindu.com/2009/04/13/stories/2009041359860800.htm – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 10. 37 „Terrorism-related incidents in Tamil Nadu, 2007-2009‟ (undated), South Asia Terrorism Portal website http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/database/tamilnadu.htm – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 14. annihilation – and had arrived in India about a year ago”. The men were reportedly caught in possession of “were several satellite telephones, global positioning system (GPS), night vision devices as well as medicines that had been neatly packed in crates”.38  On 13 April 2009 The Hindu reported that Tamil Nadu police had been ordered to arrest any persons found distributing a pro-LTTE propaganda package in the lead up to India‟s then forthcoming national elections: “„Stringent action will be taken against any person trying to distribute such CDs or playing them in public…‟ Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) T. Rajendran told The Hindu”.39  On 30 September 2008 Rediff News reported on Tamil Nadu police claims that: “Some of the top-rung members of the LTTE‟s procurement module, who had come to Chennai recently have been arrested and imprisoned”. A police official is reported to have told Rediff New that: “Increased vigil on Rameswaram coast as well as in Chennai has resulted in more Tigers being nabbed and we are also keeping a close watch on the different refugee camps”; and that: “A member of the LTTE is monitored from the moment he lands on Indian soil and is unaware that he is being tracked by the police. We allow him to wander for a while before catching him red- handed with the material as well as his contacts”.40  On 8 August 2008 the Indo-Asian News Service reported on: “sudden spurt in the arrests of Tamil Tigers and their Indian associates in Tamil Nadu”. The August 2008 report related that: “Since July 1, seven Indian and Sri Lankan Tamils each have been taken into custody in Tamil Nadu”; that: “The seven Indians taken into custody are those who decided to assist the Tigers for monetary benefits”; and that: “None of them appeared to be ideologically committed to the LTTE cause”.41  On 31 July 2008 the Indo-Asian News Service reported that: “Tambianna alias Daniel, a high-ranking Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) operator, two Sri Lankans and a Tamil Nadu resident were arrested Wednesday, the police said. A top police official told IANS that huge quantities of explosives, GPS equipment, detonators, triggers and other contraband were seized from them”.42

38 „India breaks another LTTE weapon smuggling ring‟ 2009, Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN Office at Geneva, 6 April http://www.lankamission.org/content/view/1920/9/ – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 9. 39 Kumar, S.V. 2009, „Police crackdown to prevent distribution of pro-LTTE CDs‟, the Hindu, 13 April http://www.hindu.com/2009/04/13/stories/2009041359860800.htm – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 10. 40 Sathish Anand, C.S. 2008, „Tamil Nadu cops “strangulating” Tigers‟, Rediff News, 30 September http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/sep/30ltte.htm – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 11. 41 Narayan Swamy, M.R. 2008, „Tamil Nadu arrests betray LTTE dependence on India‟, Thaindian, source: IANS, 8 August http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/tamil-nadu-arrests-betray- ltte-dependence-on-india_10081365.html – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 12. 42 „LTTE cadre held in Tamil Nadu‟ 2008, Thaindian, source: IANS, 31 July http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/ltte-cadre-held-in-tamil-nadu_10077999.html – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 13. For further examples of the numerous LTTE related arrests affected in Tamil Nadu in the over the period 2007 to 2009, see the South Asia Terrorism Portal webpage „Terrorism- related incidents in Tamil Nadu, 2007-2009‟. The webpage lists over fifty such incidents.43

Expressing support for the LTTE in Tamil Nadu A number of prominent persons have been arrested in Tamil Nadu over the recent year for expressing support of, or demonstrating in support of, the LTTE.  In October 2008 it was reported that V.Gopalsamy (Vaiko), leader of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), had been arrested for speaking out in support of the LTTE along with MDMK President, M Kannappan.44 Some two weeks later, on 6 November 2009, it was reported that: “A local court in Chennai directed the release of MDMK chief Vaiko and party‟s president Chairman M Kannappan, who were arrested on charges of sedition on October 23”.45 It was the second time Vaiko had been so arrested. The first arrest occurred in 2002 when Tamil Nadu was ruled by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) with whom Vaiko‟s MDMK is now allied.46  On 20 December 2008 it was reported that: “Tamil film director Seeman was arrested on Friday, once again for an inflammatory speech. This time he justified the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, besides euologising the LTTE at a December 14 meeting in Erode”. 47 The same report relates that: “Besides Seeman, who was picked up from a shooting site in Genguvarpatti village near Theni, Periyar Dravida Kazhagam president Kolathur Mani and Tamil Desiya Pothu Udamai Katchi general secretary Maniarasan, both of whom shared the stage with the director, were also arrested on a day that saw high drama unfolding at different places”.  On 31 January 2009 The Hindu reported from Chennai that: “Congress Deputy Leader in the Assembly D. Yasodha on Friday asked the Centre and the State government to monitor the activities of pro-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Sri Lankan Members of Parliament in the State”. Yadodha expressed concern certain MPs were “They were trying to make the Centre appear guilty on the issue, levelling unnecessary charges

43 „Terrorism-related incidents in Tamil Nadu, 2007-2009‟ (undated), South Asia Terrorism Portal website http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/database/tamilnadu.htm – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 14. 44 „Vaiko released from custody‟ 2008, Thaindian, source: IANS, 6 November http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/vaiko-released-from-custody_100115849.html – Accessed 30 November 2009 – Attachment 31. 45 „Court directs Vaiko‟s release in sedition case‟ 2008, Indian Express, 6 November http://www.indianexpress.com/news/court-directs-vaikos-release-in-sedition-ca/382226/ – Accessed 30 November 2009 – Attachment 30. 46 „MDMK leader Vaiko arrested for making pro-LTTE speech‟ 2008, Times of India, 24 October http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/MDMK-leader-Vaiko-arrested-for-making-pro-LTTE- speech/articleshow/3633554.cms – Accessed 30 November 2009 – Attachment 32. 47 „Seeman arrested again for inflammatory talk‟ 2008, Express Buzz, 20 December http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Seeman+arrested+again+for+inflammatory+tal k&artid=0TQtVhQ4trc=&SectionID=vBlkz7JCFvA=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionNam e=EL7znOtxBM3qzgMyXZKtxw==&SEO= – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 15; and also: „Pro-LTTE group leader arrested for justifying Rajiv Gandhis murder‟ 2009, Thaindian, source: ANI, 2 March http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/pro-ltte-group-leader-arrested-for- justifying-rajiv-gandhis-murder_100161794.html – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 16. against the State government and isolating the Congress”. Yadodha also reportedly made statements which appear intended to underline that while the INC is opposed to the LTTE it remains, nonetheless, sympathetic to the plight of Sri Lanka‟s displaced Tamil communities: “She recalled that when she was an MLA in the 1980s, Rs.4 crore was given to the Sri Lankan Tamils [after a resolution in the Assembly]. This could not have been possible without the permission of Rajiv Gandhi [who was the then Prime Minister]. Even now, it was only with the financial support of the Central and State governments that the refugee camps were being run”.48  It may also be of interest that, in the aftermath of India‟s 2009 elections election, there were reports of a number of MDMK activists having been rounded up by Tamil Nadu police in connection with an incident which reportedly took place on 2 May 2009. According to United News of India: “On May 2, over 200 activists belonging to Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (PDK) and the MDMK blocked and damaged four military trucks and a private truck carrying military equipment” rumored to be destined for Sri Lanka.49 The South Asia Terrorism Portal has reported of the event that: “At least 20 LTTE sympathisers were arrested for the attack on [the] Army convoy”.50 These events noted, it would not appear that expressing support for the Tamil cause, or even for the LTTE, will necessarily result in arrest in Tamil Nadu. On 17 February 2009 it was reported that: “Lawyers sympathetic to the Tamil Tigers Tuesday hurled rotten eggs at Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy in the Madras High Court in the presence of the judges and shouted anti-India slogans”.51 And prior to this, on 2 February 2009, the Indo-Asian News Service reported that: “More than 5,000 lawyers across Tamil Nadu [staging] protests denouncing Sri Lanka‟s war against the Tamil Tigers which they said had caused civilian deaths and suffering”; and that: “While there was no official word on arrests, a senior police official told IANS that the situation in Tamil Nadu was „totally peaceful‟”.52 The activities of the Lankan Tamils Protection Movement (which has cross party support from the MDMK, VCK and PMK) are also reported on regularly53 and it has recently been reported that the

48 „Monitor activities of pro-LTTE Sri Lankan MPs: Yasodha‟ 2009, The Hindu, 31 January http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/31/stories/2009013153950400.htm – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 17. 49 „6 more held in Army vehicle attack case‟ 2009, United News of India, 29 May – Attachment 18. 50 „Terrorism-related incidents in Tamil Nadu, 2007-2009‟ (undated), South Asia Terrorism Portal website http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/database/tamilnadu.htm – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 14. 51 „Pro-LTTE lawyers hurl rotten eggs at Subramaniam Swamy‟ 2009, Thaindian, source: IANS, 17 February http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/pro-ltte-lawyers-hurl-rotten-eggs-at- subramaniam-swamy_100156210.html – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 19; note: though no lawyers appear to have been arrested on the afore reported occasion, arrests were reportedly made over a subsequent incident involving pro-LTTE lawyers reported on 20 February 2009, see: „200 lawyers arrested, pandemonium in Tamil Nadu assembly‟ 2009, Thaindian, source: IANS, 20 February http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/200-lawyers-arrested-pandemonium- in-tamil-nadu-assembly-lead_100157636.html – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 20. 52 „Lawyers protest attacks on Sri Lankan Tamils‟ 2009, Thaindian, source: IANS, 2 February http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/lawyers-protest-attacks-on-sri-lankan- tamils_100150170.html – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 21. 53 „Tamil Nadu government terms as “illegal” pro-LTTE shutdown‟ 2009, Thaindian, source: IANS, source: 1 February http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/tamil-nadu-government- terms-as-illegal-pro-ltte-shutdown_100149861.html – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 22; „Sri Lankan Tamils Protection Movement seeks release of all Tamils from camps‟ 2009, The Hindu, “majority of people in Tamil Nadu want the government to support the outlawed Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka, according to an opinion poll”.54

Tamil Nadu politics and attitudes towards the LTTE and Sri Lankan Tamils55 In April 2008 the Indo-Asian News Service provided a brief historical overview of the relationship between the LTTE and the major political players in Tamil Nadu state politics noting the heavy electoral cost which was paid by the DMK for its support of the LTTE cause following the assassination of “former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991”, after which: “The AIADMK reaped the political harvest and embraced a stridently anti-LTTE line. Chief Minister Jayalalitha ordered a sweeping police crackdown, breaking up the painstakingly built LTTE network across the state”.56 Now, the report observes, “the wheels have turned in Tamil Nadu, almost a full circle”. Jayalalitha‟s AIADMK is in opposition and allied with the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), the vehicle of V.Gopalsamy (Vaiko), a Tamil Nadu politician who has remained one of the staunchest supporters of the LTTE in Dravidian politics and who was previously jailed by a Jayalalitha-led AIADMK government “for 19 long months over a pro-LTTE speech”. The DMK, on the other hand, is currently in power in Tamil Nadu with the Indian National Congress (INC) as its junior partner; a partner who at the national level leads the United Progressive Alliance coalition government, and which has been routinely criticized, by pro-LTTE advocates like Vaiko, for cooperating with Sri Lanka in its recently concluded offensive against the LTTE. The Indo-Asian News Service observes that the DMK, for its part, “is neither here nor there vis-à-vis the Tamil Eelam cause. Even as he sounds pro-LTTE, Tiger supporters spew venom at Karunanidhi”.

List of Sources Consulted

Internet Sources:

Government & Inter-Governmental Organisations Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/en UK Home Office http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk UN High Commissioner for Refugees http://www.unhcr.org UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:

30 October http://www.thehindu.com/2009/10/30/stories/2009103058920200.htm – Accessed 26 November 2009 – Attachment 23. 54 „Majority in Tamil Nadu favours backing LTTE: Poll‟ 2009, Thaindian, source: IANS, 1 April http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/majority-in-tamil-nadu-favours-backing-ltte- poll_100173876.html – Accessed 30 November 2009 – Attachment 27. 55 For background on the various regional political actors in Tamil Nadu state politics, such as the DMK, MDMK and AIADMK, see: RRT Research & Information 2009, Research Response IND35215, 18 August – Attachment 27. 56 Narayan Swamy, M.R. 2009, „In Tamil Nadu Politics, Wheel has Turned Full Circle Over Sri Lanka‟, Boloji.com website, source: IANS, 28 April http://news.boloji.com/2009/04/29860.htm – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 24; for similar assessments, see: Subramanian, T.S. 2009, „Election fodder‟, Frontline, vol.26: no.10, 9-22 May http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2610/stories/20090522261002200.htm – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 25; and: Cherian, J. 2009, „The Indian stand‟, Frontline, vol.26: no.4, 14-27 February http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2604/stories/20090227260401700.htm – Accessed 17 November 2009 – Attachment 26.  Integrated Regional Information Networks http://www.irinnews.org  Relief Web http://www.reliefweb.int US Department of State http://www.state.gov Human Rights & Non Government Organisations Asian Centre for Human Rights http://www.achrweb.org/index.htm Asian Human Rights Commission http://www.ahrchk.net Amnesty International http://www.amnesty.org Human Rights Watch http://www.hrw.org European Country of Origin Information Network (Austrian Red Cross) http://www.ecoi.net Research Groups South Asia Analysis Group http://www.southasiaanalysis.org South Asia Terrorism Portal http://www.satp.org Regional News Services Asia Times Online http://www.atimes.com DNA News http://www.dnaindia.com Express India http://www.expressindia.com Frontline http://www.frontlineonnet.com The Hindu http://www.hinduonnet.com The Hindustan Times http://www.hindustantimes.com Rediff News http://www.rediff.com Thaindian News http://www.thaindian.com The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com The Tribune http://www.tribuneindia.com Search Engines Google search engine http://www.google.com

Databases:

FACTIVA (news database) BACIS (DIAC Country Information database) REFINFO (IRBDC (Canada) Country Information database) ISYS (RRT Research & Information database, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, US Department of State Reports) RRT Library Catalogue

List of Attachments

1. Suryanarayan, V. 2009, „Sri Lanka: Focus on The Sri Lankan Tamil Refugees‟, South Asia Analysis Group website, 13 November http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers36%5Cpaper3502.html – Accessed 17 November 2009.

2. United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants 2009, „World Refugee Survey 2009 – India‟, 17 June http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4a40d2a75d.html – Accessed 17 November 2009.

3. US Department of State 2009, 2008 Human Rights Reports: India, 25 February.

4. Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada 2006, IND101397.E – India: Treatment and status of Sri Lankan Tamils who flee to India; whether they are granted any type of status; procedures to be followed if status is revoked and/or authorities wish to remove the person from India and recourse available; whether they receive assistance or are allowed to work; whether they are monitored by authorities (1990 – 2006), 30 June http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/45f1474e14.html – Accessed 17 November 2009.

5. „Sri Lankan Tamil refugees wish for Indian citizenship 2009, The Hindu, 3 November http://beta.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article42734.ece – Accessed 16 November 2009.

6. „Tamil Nadu govt. to review living conditions of Sri Lankan Tamils‟ 2009, Trak.in News, source: ANI, 3 November http://trak.in/news/tamil-nadu-govt-to-review-living- conditions-of-sri-lankan-tamils/19619/ – Accessed 16 November 2009.

7. „Tamil Nadu MPs return from Sri Lankan Tamil camps‟ 2009, India eNews, 14 October http://www.indiaenews.com/india/20091014/227141.htm – Accessed 16 November 2009.

8. Lalith 2009, „Citizenship to 29,489 Sri Lankans in Tamil Nadu refugee camps‟, Now Public website, 25 June http://www.nowpublic.com/world/citizenship-29-489-sri- lankans-tamil-nadu-refugee-camps – Accessed 16 November 2009.

9. „India breaks another LTTE weapon smuggling ring‟ 2009, Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN Office at Geneva, 6 April http://www.lankamission.org/content/view/1920/9/ – Accessed 17 November 2009.

10. Kumar, S.V. 2009, „Police crackdown to prevent distribution of pro-LTTE CDs‟, the Hindu, 13 April http://www.hindu.com/2009/04/13/stories/2009041359860800.htm – Accessed 17 November 2009.

11. Sathish Anand, C.S. 2008, „Tamil Nadu cops “strangulating” Tigers‟, Rediff News, 30 September http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/sep/30ltte.htm – Accessed 17 November 2009.

12. Narayan Swamy, M.R. 2008, „Tamil Nadu arrests betray LTTE dependence on India‟, Thaindian, source: IANS, 8 August http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world- news/tamil-nadu-arrests-betray-ltte-dependence-on-india_10081365.html – Accessed 17 November 2009.

13. „LTTE cadre held in Tamil Nadu‟ 2008, Thaindian, source: IANS, 31 July http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/ltte-cadre-held-in-tamil- nadu_10077999.html – Accessed 17 November 2009.

14. „Terrorism-related incidents in Tamil Nadu, 2007-2009‟ (undated), South Asia Terrorism Portal website http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/database/tamilnadu.htm – Accessed 17 November 2009.

15. „Seeman arrested again for inflammatory talk‟ 2008, Express Buzz, 20 December http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Seeman+arrested+again+for+i nflammatory+talk&artid=0TQtVhQ4trc=&SectionID=vBlkz7JCFvA=&MainSectionI D=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=EL7znOtxBM3qzgMyXZKtxw==&SEO= – Accessed 17 November 2009. 16. „Pro-LTTE group leader arrested for justifying Rajiv Gandhis murder‟ 2009, Thaindian, source: ANI, 2 March http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india- news/pro-ltte-group-leader-arrested-for-justifying-rajiv-gandhis- murder_100161794.html – Accessed 17 November 2009.

17. „Monitor activities of pro-LTTE Sri Lankan MPs: Yasodha‟ 2009, The Hindu, 31 January http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/31/stories/2009013153950400.htm – Accessed 17 November 2009.

18. „6 more held in Army vehicle attack case‟ 2009, United News of India, 29 May. (FACTIVA)

19. „Pro-LTTE lawyers hurl rotten eggs at Subramaniam Swamy‟ 2009, Thaindian, source: IANS, 17 February http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/pro-ltte- lawyers-hurl-rotten-eggs-at-subramaniam-swamy_100156210.html – Accessed 17 November 2009.

20. „200 lawyers arrested, pandemonium in Tamil Nadu assembly‟ 2009, Thaindian, source: IANS, 20 February http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/200- lawyers-arrested-pandemonium-in-tamil-nadu-assembly-lead_100157636.html – Accessed 17 November 2009.

21. „Lawyers protest attacks on Sri Lankan Tamils‟ 2009, Thaindian, source: IANS, 2 February http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/lawyers-protest- attacks-on-sri-lankan-tamils_100150170.html – Accessed 17 November 2009.

22. „Tamil Nadu government terms as “illegal” pro-LTTE shutdown‟ 2009, Thaindian, source: IANS, source: 1 February http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/tamil-nadu-government-terms- as-illegal-pro-ltte-shutdown_100149861.html – Accessed 17 November 2009.

23. „Sri Lankan Tamils Protection Movement seeks release of all Tamils from camps‟ 2009, The Hindu, 30 October http://www.thehindu.com/2009/10/30/stories/2009103058920200.htm – Accessed 26 November 2009.

24. Narayan Swamy, M.R. 2009, „In Tamil Nadu Politics, Wheel has Turned Full Circle Over Sri Lanka‟, Boloji.com website, source: IANS, 28 April http://news.boloji.com/2009/04/29860.htm – Accessed 17 November 2009.

25. Subramanian, T.S. 2009, „Election fodder‟, Frontline, vol.26: no.10, 9-22 May http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2610/stories/20090522261002200.htm – Accessed 17 November 2009.

26. Cherian, J. 2009, „The Indian stand‟, Frontline, vol.26: no.4, 14-27 February http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2604/stories/20090227260401700.htm – Accessed 17 November 2009.

27. RRT Research & Information 2009, Research Response IND35215, 18 August.

28. Raman, S. 2009, „“Sri Lanka factor” in Tamil Nadu poll‟, BBC News, 11 May http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8043588.stm – Accessed 30 November 2009. 29. „Majority in Tamil Nadu favours backing LTTE: Poll‟ 2009, Thaindian, source: IANS, 1 April http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/majority-in-tamil-nadu-favours- backing-ltte-poll_100173876.html – Accessed 30 November 2009.

30. „Court directs Vaiko‟s release in sedition case‟ 2008, Indian Express, 6 November http://www.indianexpress.com/news/court-directs-vaikos-release-in-sedition- ca/382226/ – Accessed 30 November 2009.

31. „Vaiko released from custody‟ 2008, Thaindian, source: IANS, 6 November http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/vaiko-released-from- custody_100115849.html – Accessed 30 November 2009.

32. „MDMK leader Vaiko arrested for making pro-LTTE speech‟ 2008, Times of India, 24 October http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/MDMK-leader-Vaiko-arrested- for-making-pro-LTTE-speech/articleshow/3633554.cms – Accessed 30 November 2009.

33. Dhillon, A. 2009, „Indian parties play Tamil card‟, Al Jazeera, 25 April http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/indiaelections/2009/04/200942583042145193.html – Accessed 30 November 2009.

34. „Parties set to make Lankan Tamils matter poll issue‟ 2009, Times of India, 12 April http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Parties-set-to-make-Lankan-Tamils-matter- poll-issue/articleshow/4391024.cms – Accessed 30 November 2009.

35. Krishnakumar, P. 2009, „Why Tamil Nadu chose DMK, rejected Congress‟, Rediff News, 16 May http://election.rediff.com/report/2009/may/16/loksabhapoll-why-tamil- nadu-rejected-congress.htm – Accessed 30 November 2009.

36. Raman, B. 2009, „TN politicians don‟t care about Sri Lankan Tamil‟, Rediff News, 12 May http://election.rediff.com/column/2009/may/12/guest-tn-politicians-dont-care- about-sri-lankan-tamils.htm – Accessed 30 November 2009.

37. Kumar, A. 2009, „Tamil Nadu parties posture over plight of Sri Lankan Tamils‟, World Socialist website, 2 May http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/may2009/indi- m02.shtml – Accessed 30 November 2009.

38. Acharya, A.K. 2007, „Ethnic Conflict and Refugees in Sri Lanka‟, Revista de Antropología Experimental, Universidad de Jean website, No.7: Texto 9: pp.107-121 http://www.ujaen.es/huesped/rae/articulos2007/acharya0907.pdf – Accessed 30 November 2009.

39. „Tamil Nadu police launch door-to-door verification of over 100,000 Lankan refugees‟ 2007, Lanka Newspapers, 24 February http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2007/2/12605.html – Accessed 30 November 2009.

40. Nadar, A.G. 2009, „Tamil or Lankan bullets don‟t matter‟, Rediff News, 1 May http://news.rediff.com/special/2009/may/01/tamil-refugees-speak-about-events-in-sri- lanka.htm – Accessed 30 November 2009. 41. Human Rights Watch 2009, Broken System: Dysfunction, Abuse, and Impunity in the Indian Police, August.

42. „Chief Minister lists measures taken for Sri Lankan refugees‟ 2009, The Hindu, 24 November http://www.thehindu.com/2009/11/24/stories/2009112453920400.htm – Accessed 30 November 2009.

43. „Karunanidhi‟s 12 crores for Sri Lankan refugees‟ 2009, NDTV, 3 November http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/tamil_nadu_relief_package_for_lankan_refugees.ph p – Accessed 30 November 2009.

44. „India/Sri Lanka: India steps up vigil along south coast after rise in Sri Lanka clashes‟ 2008, BBC Monitoring Service, source: Press Trust of India, 15 May. (CISNET India/Sri Lanka CX200227)

45. DIAC Country Information Service 2007, India Country Information Report No. 07/86 – Alert Lists at Indian Airports, (sourced from DFAT advice of 4 December 2007), 4 December. (CISNET India CX189341)

46. Karthik R.M. 2009, „My Investigative Project on Mandapam Camp‟, Unceasing Waves Blog: Wordpress website, 31 August http://karthikrm.wordpress.com/2009/08/ – Accessed 1 December 2009.

47. Asian Centre for Human Rights 2008, Indian Human Rights Report 2008 – Tamil Nadu, December http://www.achrweb.org/reports/india/AR08/tamil.html – Accessed 1 December 2009.

48. Vinoj Kumar, P.C. 2009, „Greener Grass On This Side‟, Tehelka Magazine, vol.6: no.30, 1 August http://www.tehelka.com/story_main42.asp?filename=Ne010809greener_grass.asp – Accessed 1 December 2009.

49. „Beach Landing‟ 2006, Indian Express, 26 August http://www.indianexpress.com/news/beach-landing/11442/0 – Accessed 1 December 2009.

50. Kumara Swamy, V. 2009, „Nowhere people‟, The Telegraph, 10 May http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090510/jsp/7days/story_10942916.jsp – Accessed 1 December 2009.