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of the conflict. We have therefore supported the decisive action taken by the Indian troops to try to restore law and order. But it is becoming increasingly clear that the Indian Peace-Keeping Force has completely failed to win the hearts and minds of the people. We have received a number of reports of alleged atrocities committed by the Indian forces - from individuals and through MPs - but as the area has been under Indian control until recently, with virtually no free travel permitted, it has been impossible to say whether the allegations are true. It seems likely that, at the very least, the Indians have been heavy-handed in their attempts to round up Tamil militants. There are some signs now that life in the north of Sri Lanka is improving, but there is widespread physical devastation resulting from the shelling, and it will be some time before the area can be said to have completely returned to normal.
26. The Indians claim that relations with the local people are now good, and that four soldiers have been severely punished after being court-martialled for rape. They have been making efforts to win over popular opinion, but it may now be too late.
27. On 24 December 1987 India began the voluntary repatriation to Sri Lanka of refugees from Tamil Nadu. About 1500 Tamils have now been returned in organised batches of about 500 a time, and the Indian Government estimate that 16-17,000 Tamils (out of a total of more than 100,000) have made their own arrangements to return since the signing of the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement last July.
28.
The Indians have expressed the hope that European Governments should not seek to return large numbers of failed asylum-seekers now that the situation in Sri Lanka appeared to be improving. Their main concern was that the resources of UNHCR, which is helping with the repatriation in the north, should not be overstretched; they also considered the return of Tamil refugees from India to be of greater symbolic significance in indicating a return to normality in Sri Lanka, than the return of asylum-seekers from Europe.
29. Following an unsuccessful appeal to the House of Lords by six Tamil asylum-seekers in Britain, the Home Office decided to return the six Tamils to Sri Lanka on 10 and 12 February. The British Refugee Council and UNHCR have protested at the decision, and have criticised us for removing the Tamils to Colombo without giving them any assistance to complete the journey to their homes in the north. UNHCR has said that it cannot extend its present operations to Colombo to assist failed asylum-seekers returning from Europe; the Home Office are hoping to discuss the possibility of UNHCR help with a voluntary repatriation scheme, but they do not accept that Britain should take any responsibility for the reception of the returnees.
30. So far the decision on returning Tamils is confined to the six whose cases were referred to the House of Lords, and to two others, Mohanalingam, who has a conviction for arson, and Balasingam, an illegal immigrant found welded into a van at Dover. No decision has been taken on the other Taimls in Britain, some of whom are still in detention, although a large number have been given temporary permission to stay.
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