Refugee Review Tribunal AUSTRALIA

RRT RESEARCH RESPONSE

Research Response Number: LKA35075 Country: Date: 9 July 2009

Keywords: – Sri Lanka – Tamil woman – – White Van – Checkpoints – State of Emergency

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.

Questions 1. To what extent are Tamil women in Colombo targeted by the security forces for searches, questioning or detention? (See also LKA34481) 2. Is such harassment targeted primarily at young Tamils or does it affect people of all ages?

RESPONSE

Preliminary Note

End of the War

Sri Lankan government forces captured the northern town of Kilinochchi – administrative headquarters of the Tamil Tigers in January 2009. In May 2009 the Tamil Tigers were defeated. (‘Timeline: Sri Lanka’ 2009, BBC News, 18 May http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1166237.stm – Accessed 6 July 2009 – Attachment 1)

The Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa officially announced the end of the 26-year war on 19 May 2009 – a day after the LTTE leader, was killed. (‘Sri Lanka leader hails ‘victory’ 2009, BBC News, 19 May - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8056752.stm – Accessed 6 July 2009 – Attachment 2)

State of Emergency

On 26 May 2009, the Sri Lankan government announced that the state of emergency would remain in force. (‘Sri Lanka: After the slaughter’ 2009, The Economist, 28 May – Attachment 3)

The emergency law has been further extended in June 2009:

The emergency law, which has to be passed by parliament each month, allows the arrest and detention of suspects for indefinite periods of time without trial. … Under this law an estimated 9,200 people have been arrested since the end of the civil war last month. … This was shown in the tough measures taken against suspected former LTTE combatants even after the war has ended, including the detention of an estimated 9,200 Tamil Tigers and the tough military control of camps of internally displaced people (IDPs). The extension of the emergency law can be expected to set the scene for further raids and arrests. … On the one hand, Tamils have already complained about being unfairly targeted at checkpoints (Zalewski, Jan 2009, ‘Emergency terror laws extended in Sri Lanka’ Global Insight Daily Analysis, 10 June – Attachment 4)

1. To what extent are Tamil women in Colombo targeted by the security forces for searches, questioning or detention? (See also LKA34481)

In recent times there have been reports regarding the kidnapping of a woman journalist who was taken in an unmarked white van:

Krishni Ifam, a Tamil reporter who works for media development NGO Internews, said the men had warned her to give up journalism altogether. She said she was then released in the central city of Kandy late on Wednesday with a tiny amount of cash. in Sri Lanka could not be reached for comment. Unmarked vans Ms Ifam has been speaking about her ordeal on a private television station and, separately, to the BBC. She said men who said they were policemen forced her to get into their vehicle outside her Colombo home early on Wednesday and drove for several hours while keeping her blindfolded. She said they had taken her belongings, asked if she was writing articles for foreign media outlets and warned her to give up journalism altogether before releasing her. Ms Ifam used to write for a prominent Tamil-language newspaper. … In both these cases the vehicles used were said to be unmarked white vans, which have become notorious in Sri Lanka as a means of abduction and sometimes disappearance. The Sri Lankan government insists that the media here are free (Haviland, Charles 2009 ‘Sri Lankan reporter ‘kidnapped’, BBC News, 25 June – http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8119854.stm – Accessed 6 July 2009 – Attachment 5)

Further details of this abduction is contained in the following article: The abduction and subsequent release by unidentified persons of a senior woman Internews journalist in Sri Lanka last Wednesday, after several hours of detention and a 45-minute “interview” on her work, has sent shockwaves among the media community here.

The California-based Internews describes itself as an international NGO that fosters independent media and disseminates information worldwide and the abducted staffer based in Colombo, Krishni Ifham, is a journalist for 13 years.

As per Ms. Ifham, her abductors drove her to Kandy (three hours drive from the town on the outskirts of Colombo where she was picked up). At the end of the “interview”, she was told that there would not be any further warnings. “Although I was not ordered not to write, one of the three abductors told me not to cause trouble,” she said.

“They took me blindfolded into a rundown room where they were a few chairs and some books on a table,” she said. While the van in which she was driven had curtains so that she could not see outside or seen from outside the vehicle, she had been blindfolded moments before she was taken to the place of interrogation.

“Once I sat down, they removed the blindfold,” she said, adding that during the questioning she was offered a fish bun and sachet of milk. She was questioned regarding her work, particularly her articles in the post-Prabakaran era. Of the three abductors, one sat behind with her during their ride.

Ms. Ifham, a mother of two, said the abductors dropped her off at the Kandy bus stand to get back home after giving her Rs. 200 to pay for fare. The former Virakesari staffer said she has lodged a complaint with the police. But the police have not been successful in tracing the abductors till Sunday evening.

She had a short stint with Lankapuvath and the London-based PANOS before joining Internews. Ms. Ifham was the second journalist to be targeted after a recent furore over a much-talked about mysterious list naming a group of media personalities accused of being on the payroll of the LTTE.

In an editorial titled “The return of the white van” English daily, Island said the episode raised many disturbing issues. “If an official agency was in fact responsible for taking this young mother of two to Kandy from Wattala to ask her some questions about her previous employer, to say the least this conduct is not only reprehensible but also unacceptable” (Reddy, Muralidhar B. 2009 ‘Shock over journalist’s abduction’, The Hindu, 29 June – Attachment 6)

2. Is such harassment targeted primarily at young Tamils or does it affect people of all ages?

A series of recent post-war reports indicate that the adverse interest of the authorities in Tamils has heightened and appears to be indiscriminate:

In the corridors of power in Colombo, the hard- won victory over the Tamil Tigers would have been savoured by one family above all: that of the Sri Lankan president, Percy , who carved out victory with the help of his brothers, Gotabaya, the defence secretary, and Basil, who largely masterminded the political and diplomatic strategies that accompanied the war effort. The brothers, members of a prominent political family of Sri Lanka’s Buddhist Sinhalese majority, won through utter ruthlessness… .. Now the president, a lawyer who worked as a film actor and library clerk before entering politics, enjoys messianic-like status in the country he rules with an iron fist. Many Sri Lankans feel he has deliberately blurred the genuine grievances of the Tamil minority – a community that has been oppressed since it lost its favoured status with the end of British rule – with the atrocities carried out by the terrorist Tigers over 26 years. They also suspect that a new period of persecution and oppression of the Tamils will emerge with a victorious Sinhalese government (‘The disappeared’ 2009, The Observer Magazine, 14 June – Attachment 7)

At the UNESCO World Press Freedom award ceremony in Doha – the wife of murdered journalist, Lasantha Wickrematunge, forwarded a statement regarding the fact that the war appeared to have been a war of one race against another – this article also refers to the prevalence of white vans in Colombo which are used by apparently state-sanctioned abductors who operate with impunity in their harassment of Tamils:

“Soldiers, our race salutes you!” state the Sinhala-language slogans on huge placards plastered across Sri Lanka’s countryside. Sonali Samarasinghe Wickrematunge, the widow of murdered Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge, revealed this bizarre slogan in a statement read out by Lasantha’s niece at the UNESCO World Press Freedom award ceremony in Doha on May 3. … “Not ‘the people’, not ‘the country’, but the race”, Sonali said, highlighting the true nature of Sri Lanka’s war on the Tamil people. Indeed, Sri Lanka is in a patriotic and militarist mood. In Colombo, the national flag (which features the Sinhala symbol of a lion) is being waved on top of three wheelers — the popular vehicle in South Asia. Militarisation

Walking around the city is difficult as it is dominated by the large number of checkpoints and intense security measures. The large majority of the media are busy telling a triumphant story of the Sri Lankan Army — whose soldiers are now undisputable heroes in Colombo and the island’s Sinhala-dominated south. There are other heroes, like the “Rajapaksa brothers” — President Mahinda Rajapaksa and defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa. … It may not be accidental that in this macho, militarised atmosphere, this writer experienced sexual harassment on the streets of the sort missing from previous visits to this charming country. However, a bigger problem on the streets is abductions. Sri Lanka’s notorious abductions are being conducted by Criminal Investigation Division (CID) officers — always in a white van.

Abducted

“I have no guarantee for my life”, sobbed Lackshman (names changed), a Tamil university graduate in his late 20s. “They will finish me off if I do not listen to their words.” Lackshman had torture marks all over his body. He was lucky to be spared his life by his abductors, unlike many others who never returned home. But he was warned to get out of Colombo “within days”. Lackshman left , the largely Tamil capital of the island’s Northern Province, out of fear in 2005. Many of his friends had been shot dead by unknown persons.

He’s been working since in Colombo, in a shop affiliated with a Tamil political party. In April 2008, police arrested him outside the shop.

“The police, who had come to arrest the boys in adjoining shop, arrested me too”, Lackshman said. He was held without charge for two months then released by court order.

During the detention, he was severely assaulted by police. When released, they warned him: “You can’t escape us. We know where you are working. We will be watching you.”

Lackshman knew his ordeal was to be repeated when he received a letter from an anonymous group that read: “You’re from Jaffna. Why did you come to Colombo? Get out of your place or you will be punished.”

The group claimed to be “in charge of evicting traitors”.

Lackshman received a second letter from the same group near the end of last year. This time, a deadline for his leaving Colombo was set to a specific day.

“One day in February, I came out of my place for dinner around 9pm. Some Special Task Forces personnel called me over. They pushed me into a vehicle and put a mask on my face.”

He was transferred twice during the journey of more than 10 hours. On the second transfer, he was handed over to a group who spoke perfect Tamil.

He was severely tortured by electrical equipment, leaving burns all over his body.

“I appealing to them for one more chance to live. They said it’s up to higher officials. “Finally, they told me they would give me a chance.”

The abductors dumped Lackshman on the outskirts of Colombo and told him to get out of Colombo within days or “be punished”.

White van’s ‘freedom of movement’

During the journey, he said, none of the numerous checkpoints stopped his abductors’ vehicle.

The “abduction squad”, apparently comprised of security forces, police and Tamil paramilitary groups, might be the only ones who can enjoy freedom of movement in Colombo or elsewhere on the island.

Independent Tamil MP Mano Ganesan said: “That is what we call systematical abduction to eliminate Tamils. As you can see, checkpoints are everywhere.

“But I have never heard of any white van stopped or abductors arrested.

“Isn’t it clear that the abductions are carried out with the connivance of the authorities?” Ganesan has received non-stop threats from various groups. His friend, Jaffna MP Nadaraja Raviraj, was assassinated two months after the pair launched the Civil Monitoring Commission of Abduction in late 2006.

Lal Wikrematunga, chairperson of the respected Sunday Leader said: “There is general understanding as to who abductors are. That’s why people are too scared to talk. That’s why none of the cases has been solved.

“It is very visible. But if you give others any information about abductors, then you’re under threat.” … The Civil Monitoring Commission of Abduction, a local rights body, estimates the numbers as far higher. It says more than 400 people have gone missing in Colombo since the Rajapaksa government came to power in November 2005.

However, more than 4000 have gone missing in the Tamil-dominated north and east of Sri Lanka during the same period. The missing are mainly Tamil.

Tamils targeted

Ganeshan said that as part of the peace process, between 2002 and 2005 the LTTE was allowed to open political offices in government-held areas. The aim was to transform the guerrilla rebel group, fighting for an independent Tamil state, into a political party. These offices organised various open political events in the north and east. Such events, legal at the time, were filmed.

“We found that many people who participated in such programs have since been disappeared”, Ganesan said. Sure enough, Lackshman revealed he took part in an LTTE-organised event in late 2002. He travelled with 50 others to cross the Muhamalai check point to go to Vanni, then the LTTE- controlled heartland in the north.

At the checkpoint, the SLA stopped them to take photographs and film them before allowing them to go on.

As violence spread from 2005 on, the LTTE political offices were closed down, and civilians who took part in any of its programs largely remained in government-held areas. Some moved to Colombo to avoid violence. Yet Colombo is not a “safety zone” either for Tamils.

Although intimidation by the state is a threat to the whole population, it is conducted in the most direct and humiliating way against Tamils.

Under the pretext of supposed LTTE infiltration, the government introduced a measure forcing all Tamils in Colombo, whether they have lived there for decades or were visiting for a few days, to register at a police station.

They must provide personal details, including bank accounts.

It is believed that the abduction squad obtains this information, including knowing where their targets originally came from — as Lackshman’s letter indicated. It is also believed the squad has used such information to abduct Tamil businesspeople for ransom.

A Tamil woman, weeping in a dark room in the outskirts of Colombo while breast-feeding her two-year-old girl whose father is missing, said: “I’m very scared when security forces came into my house for search. I don’t understand Sinhalese.

“I have three daughters. My husband has been missing since January 10, 2007. He was taken by CID officers nearby my house according to my neighbours.”

Military solution to a political problem

From the government-declared “safety zone”, to the barbed wired-detention camps, from the isolated Jaffna peninsula and paramilitary-dominated Eastern Province to Colombo, nowhere is safe for the Tamil minority on this island.

As the case of 25-year-old Tamil man Sampanthan (name changed) shows, people have just disappeared without a trace.

Sampanthan was arrested by police in Colombo in early 2008. He was preparing to go to Malaysia for work.

But he didn’t have his passport with him when questioned by police, who suspected him of involvement with the LTTE. He was held for three months without charge.

He was released by court order when his family had submitted all relevant documents, including his passport.

But police didn’t return his passport when he was released.

Sampanthan’s brother Eehai (name changed) said: “My brother went to the police station twice to ask his passport back, but failed.

“On May 10, 2008, minutes after I spoke to him on the phone, witnesses said he was taken into a white van by three people in civil clothes who introduced themselves as CID officers.”

The following day, CID men took all of his brother’s documents from his home.

Asked if he ever tried to approach a CID office about his brother, Eehai exclaimed: “You know I am a Tamil youth. How can I?”

As the government ruthlessly crushes the Tamil Tigers, who had been appealing for a ceasefire, Tamils in Colombo are uneasy, feeling they will be more marganalised (sic) than ever (Lee, Carla, 2009 ‘Sri Lanka: White van abductions and Sri Lanka’s terror regime’ Green Left Weekly, 23 May -Attachment 8)

The Sri Lankan police claim they were forced to shoot a manacled Tamil detainee in Colombo: A Tamil youth who was arrested in a cordon and search operation conducted by the was shot dead Sunday while the arrestee was being taken in manacled position in a police jeep along Dam Street in Colombo to a venue for further investigation, said Senior of Police Ranjit Gunasekara, police media spokesperson.

The spokesperson added the police were forced to shoot him when the victim attempted to squeeze the neck of the police official who was at the wheel of the jeep.

Gunasekara refused to divulge the name of the victim and other details (‘Police shoots dead Tamil youth in Colombo; 2009, Tamil net, 9 February – Attachment 9)

Another incident involved the arrest and re-arrest of the project manager of Centre for Human Rights and Development (CHRD) in Colpetty in Colombo, near Colombo Town Hall:

Unidentified armed men in a white van, alleged to be Military Intelligence officers, Thursday night [7 May] forcibly took away Stephen Sunthararaj, 39, the project manager of Centre for Human Rights and Development (CHRD) in Colpetty in Colombo, near Colombo Town Hall, sources in Colombo said. Sunthararaj, who had been arrested by the Colpetty police on 12 February, was released Thursday morning by Colombo Magistrate Court that found him not guilty of any offence, the sources added.

The abductors took Sunthararaj away while he was travelling in a vehicle with his family and relatives to a new place of residence, according to complaints made to the Colpetty and Cinnamon Gardens police by his relatives.

The persons in the vehicle at the time of abduction alleged that abductors were Military Intelligence officers. Stephen Sunthararaj, father of three children, had been Assistant Social Science lecturer in Jaffna University from 2001 to 2005 and in Colombo University from 2003 to 2005.

Stephen was interrogated by the Criminal Investigation Police and the Terrorist Investigation Department Police at the time when was detained by the Colpetty police.

He was released by the court when police told the magistrate that Stephen had no involvement with Liberation Tigers.

Stephen’s wife refused to pay money to have him released when approached by a person on 13 February who came to the Copetty police station where Stephen was detained next day after his arrest (‘Pro-Tamil website reports rights activist abducted in Sri Lankan capital’ BBC Monitoring Service sourced from Tamil net, 9 May – Attachment 10)

Of those at risk, Tamil youths appear to the most vulnerable:

Sri Lanka police took into custody nine Tamil youths in a search operation conducted from Thursday morning till evening in and Pettah areas in Colombo city, sources in Colombo said. The youths arrested are from North, East and upcountry provinces, relatives of the arrestees said.

The search was extended to Maathampiddi and Kelaniya areas too in which pedestrians and vehicles were stopped and checked (‘9 Tamil youths arrested in Colombo’ 2009, Tamil net, 14 May 2009 – Attachment 11) According to the UNHCR these are the following types of persons who may be vulnerable due to a combination of factors:

D. Groups at Risk of Targeted Human Rights Violations For the assessment of the eligibility of asylum-seekers from Sri Lanka under the refugee definition in the 1951 Convention, the following categories of asylum-seekers are considered to be particularly at risk of suffering serious harm because of their individual profile. The groups highlighted below are neither collectively exhaustive nor mutually exclusive. Such targeting may indeed exist but due to restrictions on monitoring and reporting in many parts of Sri Lanka, and the limited information at its disposal, UNHCR is not aware of specific incidents that would justify highlighting additional groups. i) Tamils Originating from the North or the East of Sri Lanka

The significant majority of reported cases of human rights violations in Sri Lanka involve persons of Tamil ethnicity who originate from the North and East. These individuals are at risk within these regions, and in other parts of Sri Lanka, by Government actors, the TMVP and other pro-Government paramilitary groups as well as the LTTE, because of their race (ethnicity) and/or (imputed) political opinion. In Government-controlled areas, Tamils who originate from the North and the East, which are, or have been under LTTE control, are frequently suspected as being associated with the LTTE. For this reason, Tamils from the North and the East are at heightened risk of human rights violations related to the implementation of anti- and anti- insurgency measures. While this risk exists in all parts of Sri Lanka, it is greatest in areas in which the LTTE remains active, and where security measures are heaviest, in particular the North and parts of the East, and in and around Colombo. Because of the heavy reliance of the LTTE on support and assistance of Tamils in areas which they have administered or controlled, which has included mandatory military training and recruitment of men and women and children, the use of civilians, including women in suicide attacks, and the requirement that civilians provide financial and other support for LTTE activities, few Tamils from these regions are without ties to the LTTE. Those who are vulnerable to suspicion of having LTTE ties are, therefore, not limited to individuals who are presently actively engaged in LTTE activities and/or carrying out acts related to the armed conflict. Categories of Tamils from the North and East who are most likely to be suspected of LTTE affiliations, and are, therefore, at significant risk of suffering serious human rights violations, include, but are not limited to:

• Young Tamil males, in particular those who are not able to establish their affiliation with the TMVP, or one of the other pro-Government Tamil groups • Tamils, male or female, who were trained by the LTTE, in particular those who have served with LTTE fighting forces • Tamils who are not in possession of proper civil documentation, such as National Identity Cards • Tamils who have had contacts with the political offices that the LTTE opened in several areas of the North and the East after the signing of the Cease Fire Agreement of 2002 • Tamils who were born in the North or the East who and are outside of the region, in particular those who reside in or seek to enter Colombo. In addition, Tamils in the North who remain under LTTE control are at risk of serious human rights violations by the LTTE, including heavy restrictions on their freedom of movement and expression, compelled to provide financial and other support for LTTE activities and forced recruitment by the LTTE for labour or military service. Any Tamil who refuses a request to participate in, or provide support for, LTTE activities risks being viewed as an opponent and suffering serious reprisals, which may include torture and killing. Individuals who have been former LTTE members who have defected, in particular those who are now providing, or are perceived to be providing, assistance to Government forces or other Tamil groups could, depending on their former role in the LTTE and current activities, also be at risk of retaliation by the LTTE. Tamils from the North and the East may also be vulnerable to human rights abuses resulting from the inter-ethnic violence, which remains a serious problem in the East, in particular. Further, certain Tamils may be at risk of violence related to divisions within the Tamil community, frequently resulting from power struggles within and between emerging Tamil groups in the East and the North.

Internally displaced Tamils from the North and the East who are unlikely to be able to return to their original homes in this area, for example due to the destruction of their houses, or confiscation or occupation of their property by the military, and who are, therefore, likely to be in situation of displacement would be vulnerable to serious human rights abuses, in particular if they belong to any of the categories referred to above.

ii) Tamils Originating from Colombo and the Western Province In Colombo there is a large population of ethnic Tamils who have been living in the area for generations.108 Tamils who originate from this region have also been subjected to greater scrutiny and suspicion and are at risk of human rights violations associated with the security and counter-terrorism measures described above. Ethnic Tamils from Colombo who are perceived to oppose Government policies or the LTTE, in particular those who fall within categories v) – viii) below, are considered to be at greater risk (‘UN High Commissioner for Refugees 2009, ‘UNHCR eligibility guidelines for assessing the international protection needs of asylum-seekers from Sri Lanka’, UNHCR Refworld website, April, p.30 – http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/49de0b6b2.html – Accessed 15 April 2009 – Attachment 12).

List of Sources Consulted Internet Sources:

Government Information & Reports UK Home Office website http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk US Department of State website http://www.state.gov Immigration and Refugee Board Canada http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/ United Nations (UN) UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) website http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi- bin/texis/vtx/home Non-Government Organisations Amnesty International website http://www.amnesty.org/ Human Rights Watch (HRW) website http://www.hrw.org/ International News & Politics BBC News website http://news.bbc.co.uk/ The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/ Le Monde http://www.lemonde.fr/ Region Specific Links Tamil Net http://www.tamilnet.com/ Daily News http://www.dailynews.lk The Sunday Times http://www.sundaytimes.lk/index.html Search Engines AlltheWeb search engine http://www.alltheweb.com/ Google search engine http://www.google.com.au/ Yahoo search engine http://search.yahoo.com Copernic search engine Databases: FACTIVA (news database) BACIS (DIAC Country Information database) REFINFO (IRBDC (Canada) Country Information database) ISYS (RRT Country Research database, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, US Department of State Reports) MRT-RRT Library Catalogue

List of Attachments

1. ‘Timeline: Sri Lanka’ 2009, BBC News, 18 May http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1166237.stm – Accessed 6 July 2009.

2. ‘Sri Lanka leader hails ‘victory’ 2009, BBC News, 19 May http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8056752.stm – Accessed 6 July 2009.

3. ‘Sri Lanka: After the slaughter’2009, The Economist, 28 May. (CISNET Sri Lanka CX228290)

4. Zalewski, Jan 2009, ‘Emergency terror laws extended in Sri Lanka’ Global Insight Daily Anaylysis, 10 June. (FACTIVA)

5. Haviland, Charles 2009 ‘Sri Lankan reporter ‘kidnapped’, BBC News, 25 June – http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8119854.stm – Accessed 6 July 2009.

6. Reddy, Muralidhar B. 2009 ‘Shock over journalist’s abduction’, The Hindu, 29 June. (FACTIVA)

7. ‘The disappeared’ 2009, The Observer Magazine, 14 June. (FACTIVA)

8. Lee, Carla, 2009 ‘Sri Lanka: White van abductions and Sri Lanka’s terror regime’ Green Left Weekly, 23 May. CISNET Sri Lanka CX228318)

9. ‘Police shoots dead Tamil youth in Colombo’, 2009, Tamil net, 9 February. CISNET Sri Lanka CX220552)

10. ‘Pro-Tamil website reports rights activist abducted in Sri Lankan capital’ BBC Monitoring Service sourced from Tamil net, 9 May. CISNET Sri Lanka CX225936)

11. ‘9 Tamil youths arrested in Colombo’ 2009, Tamil net, 14 May 2009. (CISNET Sri Lanka CX226344)

12. ‘UN High Commissioner for Refugees 2009, ‘UNHCR eligibility guidelines for assessing the international protection needs of asylum-seekers from Sri Lanka’, UNHCR Refworld website, April, – http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/49de0b6b2.html – Accessed 15 April 2009.