Accoring to Mannar Government Agent SM Croos, over 20,000 refugees have entered the district from the Vanni since Army’s Operation Jayasikurui began in May and 30 families arrive every day. Around 3,500 people registered to go to Jaffna are staranded in Mannar. Ship services were suspended after the LTTE hijacked and damaged refugee ship Misen on 1 July.
Another 3,000 refugees in schools at Karukaikulam near LTTE’s Adampan checkpoint are suffering without adequate relief. UNHCR’s new representative Bo Schack says talks with the LTTE over transport of refugees to Jaffna have failed to produce any results.
Sri Lankan refugees continue to arrive in the the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. There are currently 70,000 refugees in Tamil Nadu camps, including 8,000 who arrived since 8 August. Reports say another 5,000 may have entered illegally within the past one year.
India and Sri Lanka crossed swords again over fishermen in the Palk Strait dividing the two countries. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi demanded Indian intervention after the Sri Lankan Navy shot dead four Indian fishermen in mid-July. As Tamil intellectuals staged a protest fast in Chennai, former Indian Railways minister George Fernandes alleged that the Sri Lankan Navy has killed 253 fishermen in Indian territorial waters and threatened to take the issue to the United Nations.
As the Indian High Commissioner Nareshwar Dayal complained to Sri Lankan Foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, Indian Prime Minister IK Gujral assured Mr Karunanidhi that appropriate action will be taken to protect Indian fishermen. In the last few months Mr Karunanidhi has been threatening to withdraw his DMK party from India’s ruling coalition over other issues.
Mr Kadirgamar has denied that the Sri Lankan Navy was responsible for the killings. Sri Lanka says Sea Tiger boats often hide among fishing vessels launching attacks on the Sri Lankan Navy and smuggling food and fuel to the island.