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Sri Lankan Refugees in Malaysian Camp go on Hunger Strike
Fri, 23 October 2009 10:44
(NIDAHASA News) At least six Sri Lankan refugees at a Malaysian detention camp have been on a hunger strike for more than seven days, demanding that they be allowed to meet officials from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), reports say.
The six detainees, including a woman, are among 207 Sri Lankans currently in the camp located in Malaysia`s southern state of Johor after they were detained at a hotel last month for not having valid travel documents.
The six had claimed they were given documents from the UNHCR granting them refugee status, said E. Silvarajah, coordinator for a local human rights group dealing with the detainees.
"We have suffered enough at the hands of the Sri Lankan government. Our life so far has been wasted by the war. We were forced to escape as a result of the horrific attacks on Tamil-speaking people in Sri Lanka." refugees said in a statement.
Meanwhile Sri Lanka police claims there`s a LTTE suspect among refugees. Police spokesman said that the suspect was being hunted down while in the island and that he had fled the country prompting the Sri Lankan authorities to issue a red notice with Interpol for his arrest.
According to Malaysian sources, there are 15 women and 6 children among these 207 Sri Lankans.
Malaysia is known as both a transit point and permanent asylum for tens of thousands of refugees from countries such as Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
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