THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2003
Tamils begin registering as Lanka citizens
AP
COLOMBO: Thousands of ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka who have no citizenship have begun registering as citizens here, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said on Wednesday.
"More than 6,000 Tamils of Indian origin registered themselves as Sri Lankan citizens last weekend," UNHCR said in a statement.
The refugee agency is sponsoring the registration of 168,000 descendants of Indian labourers who were granted citizenship rights by Sri Lanka's Parliament in October.
"Persons without citizenship are denied some of the most basic rights and entitlements," the statement said, quoting UNHCR representative Neill Wright.
Wright said stateless people were unable to own property, denied government jobs and had to live without birth certificates, marriage certificates or passports.
"For almost 200 years, this has been the predicament of a great many Tamils of Indian origin living in Sri Lanka," Wright said. "The new legislation corrects this injustice."
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