Over 100 Sri Lankan refugees from special camps today staged a demonstration in front of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office here demanding that those who have spent more than 30 years in India be registered as refugees by the UN agency.
"We protested in front of the UNHCR office and later handed over a request to register refugees who have spent more than 30 years in India," Senthooran, a refugee from a special camp told PTI.
He said though they were accorded refugee status by the Tamil Nadu Government, they required the UNHCR recognition so that willing countries could accommodate and accept them as their citizens.
Senthooran also brought to the attention of UNHCR officials the plight of hundreds of Lankan refugees, who he said were in the custody of Somalian pirates, when they attempted to leave for Australia on board an illegal boat from Vellankanni in Tamil Nadu last year.
A senior official in the UNHCR office later received their representation.
