Change in SL guard fails to inspire confidence in refugees to return

VIRUDHUNAGAR: Although Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s alliance has seemingly won the confidence of the Tamils in Sri Lanka, scoring a landslide victory in the recent parliamentary polls, it has failed to evoke hopes of a brighter future in the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in TN. In the lead up to the polls, during a rally in Jaffna, the new Lankan President also made a significant promise, to take steps towards returning land occupied by the Sri Lankan government, especially the military, back to Tamil owners. However, the Lankan Tamil refugees, living in various camps across Tamil Nadu, have expressed they are not ready to trade their comfortable, peaceful lives for Dissanayake’s words of assurance. Even if the current government takes measures to improve the living conditions of Tamils in Sri Lanka, it is a long process and one that is unlikely to endure past its term, Balachandran added.