Fears for expatriates in Iraq war

Sri Lankan ports could be used to refuel US ships

Both India and Sri Lanka say they are making preparations to ensure the safety of their citizens in the Middle East should there be war in Iraq.

The Sri Lankan Government says tens of thousands of its nationals may have to be evacuated from Kuwait.

We are ready with plans to bring back our workers who number about 160,000 to 170,000 in Kuwait

Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena
Sri Lankan minister

India says it is drafting contingency plans.

But it does not expect a repetition of the huge refugee airlift it undertook during the last Gulf War.

Both countries have large expatriates communities in the region.

'Big problem'

Sri Lankan Labour Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said on Thursday that plans were in place to provide food and shelter to Sri Lankans in Kuwait.

But Sri Lanka would be asking the International Red Cross for help in flying its nationals home, he said, the AFP news agency reports.

Mr Abeywardena said that Kuwaiti involvement in any US-led war on Iraq would be a "big problem" for Sri Lanka.

"We are ready with plans to bring back our workers who number about 160,000 to 170,000 in Kuwait."

In contrast, he said there were probably fewer than 1,500 Sri Lankans in Iraq itself.

Sri Lankans could be returned home "at state expense", Mr Abeywardena said.

'Less serious'

Indian Junior Foreign Minister Digvijay Singh told the Reuters news agency his government was taking all necessary steps to deal with any emergency.

Protesters in Calcutta

But he said the current situation appeared less serious for Indian nationals than the 1991 Gulf War.

"The expectation is that if war takes place, it will be confined, not like last time when two states (Iraq and Kuwait) were at war and you had a large number of Indians in both countries," he said.

"We're not thinking of evacuation... there's no cause for panic."

Tens of thousands of Indians were flown out of Kuwait after Iraq invaded it in 1990.

Many more fled overland.

According to Reuters, more than three million Indians are resident in the Gulf region, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Kuwait.

Only a handful remain in Iraq.

Sri Lanka's oil

It is estimated that Sri Lankans working in the Middle East send home earnings worth more than $1bn a year, making them the country's main source of outside revenue.

The Sri Lankan Government has called for peaceful efforts to resolve the dispute over Iraq's alleged supplies of weapons of mass destruction.

It has also advised consumers to stock up on supplies of oil. Most of Sri Lanka's oil comes from the Gulf.

The government in Colombo has been discussing offering military support to the US in the event of war.

Last month the US ambassador to Colombo said America might ask Sri Lanka for help with refuelling its ships and aircraft should war break out.

During the 1991 Gulf War, Sri Lanka offered its ports and airports to US forces after India opened refuelling facilities to US aircraft in Bombay, but its services were not needed.