Sri Lankan refugees of 1990: A dark chapter in T.N.’s otherwise proud history of offering sanctuary to those in need Premium

Sri Lankan refugees of 1990: A dark chapter in T.N.’s otherwise proud history of offering sanctuary to those in need

Tamil Nadu has an enviable track record of providing shelter to those in distress, regardless of their place of origin. But an episode in March 1990, concerning Sri Lankan refugees, marks an aberration to the State’s tradition. This episode, involving 1,612 refugees — 353 women and 400 children —remains less discussed in public discourse, and its recall assumes relevance in light of World Refugee Day falling on June 20.

Ranasinghe Premadasa’s assumption of office of the President of Sri Lanka in January 1989 made a perceptible difference to the presence of Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF) in the neighbouring country. Five months later, Premadasa openly demanded the ouster of the IPFK, which went there in July 1987 on the request of his predecessor, J.R. Jayawardene, following the Indo-Sri Lanka accord. The new incumbent made the demand, keeping in mind the separate anti-IPKF campaigns by two diverse militant groups, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP, which had subsequently abandoned its militant path and joined the political mainstream) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). After the IPKF’s de-induction commenced by the end of July 1989, the LTTE began taking control of areas in the northern and eastern regions. As the end of the political set-up in the then North East Provincial Council (NEPC), headed by A. Varatharaja Perumal of the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), became evident, the influx of refugees to Tamil Nadu resumed in a big way.

It was against this backdrop that two ships, Harsh Vardhana and Tippu Sultan, carrying about 1,250 refugees, were not permitted for disembarkation of passengers at what was then known as the Madras harbour, on March 8 and 9. Both were diverted to Visakhapatnam, after which the passengers were taken to Odisha (then Orissa) for transit camps in Malkangiri, about 125 km from Koraput town.

A report of The Hindu, published on March 10, quoting “official and other sources,” stated that “the decision to ferry the refugees from Trincomalee to Madras was taken at a meeting” of the External Affairs Minister I.K. Gujral and the NEPC Chief Minister in New Delhi in January/February 1990. Only on the basis of that decision, both Harsh Vardhana and Tippu Sultan were hired to transport about 1,300 refugees. The report went on to state that “most probably, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister [M. Karunanidhi] does not know about it.”

K. Premachandran, Sri Lanka’s Member of Parliament belonging to the EPRLF, was bitter about the treatment. The passengers, at the time of embarkation at Trincomalee, were assured they could disembark at Madras. “Imagine their mental agony. They were in the middle of the sea, not knowing what was happening,” the report added, quoting him as having said. P. Upendra, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting in the National Front government led by V.P. Singh, told reporters in the city on March 9 that there were doubts whether the passengers aboard the ship were “real refugees or EPRLF cadres.”

On the apprehension that the refugees could be the cadres of the EPRLF and Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front (ENDLF), who could have spirited off weapons on board the vessels, Mr. Premachandran said, “each and everyone was thoroughly checked at China Bay in Trincomalee and the IPKF also made sure that there was not a single weapon on board the ships.”

According to Anil Dhir, Bhubaneshwar-based researcher-writer, the then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister M. Channa Reddy, who allowed the ships to drop anchor at the outer harbour of Visakhapatnam port and gave food and water, however, refused disembarkation of the passengers. A similar stand was taken by other Chief Ministers too, who did not want any trouble in their respective States. Eventually, it was Biju Patnaik who had agreed to take the refugees.