Advocating ‘across the border’ citizenship for Sri Lankan Tamil refugees presently living in India, the former National Security Adviser, M.K. Narayanan, on Wednesday said, “it was not easy, but it should be possible.”

Speaking at a colloquium ‘The Future of Sri Lankan Tamil Refugees in India’ organised by The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, he endorsed the argument that providing financial support to refugees who intend to return should help them. “By and large the Government of India can meet its obligations on returning the refugees back to their homeland with a certain amount of backup and support,” he said.

“What they want is, give us a little more support, in helping those who want to go back to do so. I think this is easy,” the former NSA said.

Organisation for Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation treasurer S.C. Chandrahasan also emphasised the need to facilitate the return of these refugees who had spent over 30 years in India. Unlike other countries in the West, Afro-Asian nations, especially India, did not make the refugees wait in a queue and instead, accepted them as they came. The opinion of the vast majority of refugees living in India was to go back home and safeguard their lands, he said.

The Chairman of Kasturi and Sons Limited, N. Ram, said the conditions in the Island had improved “significantly, if not radically” and it was the best time for the safe return of Tamil refugees to their homeland. With a new government in the island, there was a conducive atmosphere for those who were willing to return, he added.

R.K. Radhakrishnan, Senior Deputy Editor, Frontline, said the conditions in the refugee camps in Tamil Nadu were bad and the accommodation provided to them had not been repaired in several years. He made a presentation on the future of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in India.