Vaiko plea to PM on Lankan Tamil refugees

Chennai, May 26 (UNI) Marumalarchi DMK (MDMK) General Secretary Vaiko today urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take effective measures to protect the lives and welfare of the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, who were reaching the shores of Tamil Nadu 'following attacks in the Tamil areas by the island's forces.' In a letter to the Prime Minister, copy of which was made available to the media here, Mr Vaiko requested Dr Singh to direct the Indian Coast Guard to provide round-the-clock 'vigilant' naval corridor within the country's territorial waters, along the northern side of the Sethu chain of sand mounds, stretching for a length of 15 km from Dhanushkodi old pier, to ensure the safe arrival of the refugees.

''The refugee-laden craft should be allowed to unload their human cargo at the Dhanushkodi old pier and these crafts/boats should be allowed to return to Mannar Island,'' he said.

On arrival, the refugees should be provided with minimum personal needs like food, clothing and first aid, he added.

Mr Vaiko said the Indian authorities should take the refugees to Mandapam Camp by road for shelter before they could be identified, security cleared, documented and relocated.

He said the heart - rending stories of the refugees revealed the 'atrocious attacks' by the Sri Lankan Army in the Tamil areas. ''It is a matter of terrible shock that innocent women and children have been killed in this murderous attack,'' he claimed.

In the last five months, the number of refugees who turned up at our shores had risen to more than 2000 and reports from the incoming groups indicate that a large number of them were waiting to migrate to India for their safety and security, Mr Vaiko claimed.

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