VZCZCXRO7829
RR RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHLH RUEHNEH RUEHPW
DE RUEHCG #0387/01 3290813
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 240813Z NOV 08
FM AMCONSUL CHENNAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1988
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 3409
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENNAI 000387 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR PRM/ANE MEGHANN CURTIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF PGOV PTER PHUM SOCI IN CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKAN REFUGEES STILL ARRIVING, POST RECOMMENDS PRM 
ASSISTANCE IN FY09 
 
REFS:  A) CHENNAI 364 B) CHENNAI 362 C) CHENNAI 051 
 
¶1.  (U) This is an action request.  See paragraphs 12 and 13. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Summary:  The recent escalation of Sri Lanka's war against 
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has not resulted in the 
expected flood of new refugees to India.  Nonetheless, refugees 
continue to arrive at a steady, but modest pace.  Recent visitors to 
the refugee camps confirm post's January 2008 assessment that at 
least some camps suffer deficiencies, particularly in terms of water 
and sanitation.  Attention to the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils 
remains extremely high in Tamil Nadu.  Mission India strongly 
recommends that PRM allocate FY09 assistance funds for Sri Lankan 
refugees in Tamil Nadu.  Doing so will encourage India to continue 
its recent openness to assistance and inquiries about this refugee 
community, as well as serve our common counter-terrorism goal of 
denying the Tamil Tigers potential recruits.  End summary. 
 
Modest refugee flow continues, but no flood 
------------- 
 
¶3. (U) The Organization for Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation (OfERR), 
which compiles the most reliable figures for Sri Lankan refugee 
arrivals, told post that 2,394 refugees arrived in Tamil Nadu from 
January 1 through October 31, 2008.  These arrivals continue at a 
steady, but modest pace.  OfERR's monthly breakdown of 2008 arrivals 
follows: 
 
 January   145 
 February  159 
 March  233 
 April  233 
 May   556 
 June  228 
 July  261 
 August  115 
 September 265 
 October 199 
 
¶4. (SBU) By historical standards, the current refugee flow is 
modest.  For example, more than 10,000 refugees arrived in a period 
of just three months in 2006.  The current rate of arrivals runs 
counter to recent fears that the intensification of the conflict in 
northern Sri Lanka would lead to a flood of refugees to India.  Our 
interlocutors attribute the failure of the flood to materialize to a 
variety of factors.  Many tell us that both the Sri Lankan Navy and 
the Tamil Tigers prevent potential refugees from crossing to India. 
On the Indian side, the Coast Guard has stepped up its patrols in 
coastal waters.  There are also reports that law enforcement 
authorities are more regularly punishing boat operators for 
transporting refugees, providing a significant deterrent to the 
refugee traffic. 
 
Conditions concern visiting bishops; state welcomes help 
------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) With more than 73,000 Sri Lankan refugees spread out over 
115 camps throughout Tamil Nadu (which is approximately the size of 
Greece), it is difficult to generalize about their living 
conditions.  As we saw first-hand in January 2008, conditions can 
vary quite dramatically from camp to camp but it is evident that at 
least some camps suffer substantial water and sanitation 
deficiencies (ref C). 
 
¶6.  (SBU) After visiting six refugee camps in October 2008, 
representatives of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) 
confirmed our January 2008 assessment.  They expressed grave 
concerns about water and sanitation, as well as the quality of the 
housing for refugees.  Of the six camps the bishops visited, one was 
Naranammalpuram camp in Tirunelveli district which a November 19 
newspaper article described as "unhygienic," adding that "basic 
sanitation is a distant reality in the camp."  The article noted 
that the camp's 830 residents share just 13 toilets and that "the 
appalling state of the toilets has increased open defecation in the 
camp." 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The USCCB delegation reported the findings of their visit 
to the six camps to Consulate staff and a mid-level official from 
the Commissionerate of Rehabilitation, which oversees the state's 
efforts to assist Sri Lankan refugees.  The official acknowledged 
that despite the state's efforts to provide for the refugees, more 
could be done to improve the basic facilities available to them.  He 
emphasized the central government's policy that the refugee 
situation is "temporary" (despite the population having been in 
India for more than twenty years) limits the state government's 
ability to improve conditions at the camps.  In light of this 
limitation and the substantial unmet needs in the camps, the 
 
CHENNAI 00000387  002 OF 002 
 
 
official said the state would welcome further U.S. government 
assistance to improve conditions. 
 
Tamil Nadu eyes trained firmly on Sri Lanka 
------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The Sri Lankan Army's continued offensive north into the 
Tamil Tigers' stronghold, and the associated casualties and 
displacement of Sri Lankan Tamil civilians, have caused serious 
concern in Tamil Nadu.  Although the political crisis created by the 
threatened resignations of Tamil Nadu's Members of Parliament has 
passed (refs A and B), public attention remains fixed on events in 
the island nation.  Interlocutors regularly mention the inflammatory 
pro-Tamil Tiger DVD that has been circulating around Tamil Nadu (ref 
b) with its recurring loop of images of Sri Lankan planes bombing 
villages and bloodied women and children. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The local media closely chronicles the Sri Lankan Army's 
offensives, as well as the almost daily stream of public events 
throughout Tamil Nadu that highlight the state's continued support 
for the Sri Lankan Tamils' cause.  Political and civil society 
leaders are engaged, but more significant is the steady drumbeat of 
support from the influential Tamil film industry.  The industry's 
biggest stars have held high-profile hunger strikes and cancelled 
celebrations to express their solidarity with the Sri Lankan Tamils. 
 The movie industry's involvement keeps public attention fixated on 
the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils. 
 
Attention on Sri Lanka stokes fears 
of increased radicalization of refugees 
--------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) Contacts that interact regularly with the refugees worry 
that news of the intensified hostilities in Sri Lanka could fuel 
sympathy for the Tamil Tigers.  SC Chandrahasan, OfERR's founder and 
a refugee himself, said the refugees worry about the effects of Sri 
Lanka's military offensives into the Tiger's northern stronghold. 
He mentioned some refugees heeded the call by Tamil Nadu's political 
parties to stage hunger strikes to protest the war, which was 
notable as the refugees generally steer clear of political 
activities. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) An ardent opponent of the Tamil Tigers, Chandrahasan 
expressed concern that continued images of Tamil casualties of Sri 
Lanka's war of "Sinhala chauvinism" may radicalize some refugees -- 
especially young people -- making them susceptible to recruitment by 
the Tigers.  (Note:  Chandrahasan is a pacifist committed to keeping 
the refugee community free of Tamil Tiger influence.  Although he 
ultimately expressed optimism that the refugees will continue to 
steer clear of radicalism, he seemed more concerned about it than at 
any point in the past decade.  End note.)  Representatives of 
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) were more pessimistic.  They told us 
that publicity over the recent escalation in violence in Sri Lanka, 
coupled with poor living conditions at some camps, have made many 
young refugees potential targets for recruitment by the Tamil 
Tigers. 
 
Action request:  Post recommends FY09 PRM 
funding for Sri Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu 
--------------- 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Mission India strongly recommends that PRM allocate FY09 
assistance funds for Sri Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu.  Doing so 
will leverage the momentum built by PRM's FY08 USD 875,000 project, 
the first-ever on behalf of this refugee population.  India's 
openness to U.S. assistance in this area was hard-won:  for years it 
would not even permit U.S. government visitors to the camps and it 
still refuses to allow visits by the United Natins High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR).  The ocal government officials 
critical to successfulimplementation are entrepreneurial, 
especially b Indian bureaucratic standards, and eager for ourassistance. 
 
¶13.  (SBU) Funding in FY09, howevermodest, will send the right 
signal:  that we car about this vulnerable refugee population, 
whichis all the more important at a time when attention to the 
plight of Sri Lankan Tamils is at a decades-long high here in Tamil 
Nadu.  Continued funding will also advance key U.S.-India 
counter-terrorism goals of combating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil 
Eelam, which both nations long ago designated as a terrorist 
organization.  By working to improve conditions in the camps, we 
will help reduce the chances of the Tamil Tigers successfully 
recruiting Sri Lankan refugees as future terrorists. 
 
¶14.  (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy New Delhi. 
 
SIMKIN