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'Few Tamil refugees leaving camps in Sri Lanka'

by lalith | December 5, 2009 at 11:17 am

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'Few Tamil refugees leaving camps in Sri Lanka'

P K Balachandran First Published : 04 Dec 2009 05:04:49 PM IST Last Updated : 05 Dec 2009 04:29:46 PM IST

COLOMBO: Less than 20 per cent of the Tamil war refugees kept in camps in north Sri Lanka have availed of the freedom of movement granted by the government since Dec. 1, the Minister for Human Rights, Mahinda Samarasinghe, said here on Friday. Samarsinghe told the media that over the past three days, only 22,443 of the 112,062 refugees resident in camps had availed of the facility. Of them, 9, 717 had come back, he added. “This is a testimony to the satisfactory conditions prevailing in the camps. They are not as bad as alleged by a section of the local and international media,” he said.The Minister further said that a section of the international media had “falsely and mischievously” spread the story that the refugees had to return within 15 days. He said that there was no time limit for being out. Nor was there any restriction on where the refugees could go, though, for obvious reasons, places in the former war zone which were yet to be cleared of mines were still no-go zones, he said.

About 70 per cent of the areas earmarked for resettlement has been cleared of mines and over 7,000 mines recovered.The areas cleared of mines were along the A9 highway cutting across the Wanni from the south to the north; the A 32 highway cutting across the region from east to west; the Mannar Rice Bowl in the south west; and Pooneryn in the north west.

Many places in the Mullaitivu and Kilionochchi districts were still not free of mines, and therefore, refugees sent there for resettlement were still in “transit camps,”

However, it is apparent that the conditions depicted by many a LTTE or terrorist supporter are wrong. The refugees who are already resettled have a different story to tell and many of them who were spoken to will be voting for President Rajapaksa in the forthcoming Presidential elections.

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Hiranya Malwatta

at 21:29 on December 9th, 2009

Thank you for the post Lalith.

I'm wondering where have all the KTTEs gone? Where are they when we need them most?

Yesterday I was watching news and I was stunned ! The President was visiting Cheddikulam welfare centers and walking amidst crowds of IDPs.... and the response !! They were reaching out to touch his hand just like the people in the south do whenever the President goes to some rural village to meet the people. This was no organized and trained thing - you have to watch it to believe it.

I'll try to find a video of it to upload.

B12N

at 12:56 on December 13th, 2009

"They were reaching out to touch his hand"
They werent reaching out willingly to this terrosit. It is all staged like all other visits.
You seriuously beleive any tamil from the camps to like this president and COWARD army who killed their family?> WAKE UP.
DID YOU HEAR THE CONFESSIONS OF SARATH FONSEKA?
I thought he was one of your heroes some times ago???http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20091213_03
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=30783

Hiranya Malwatta

at 00:20 on December 14th, 2009

Ah here you are :)

Sarath Fonseka is still the hero who beat up the coward Prabhakaran who hid under the skirts of Wanni Tamils for months and months :)

B12N - for your information, the wanni tamils don't give a hoot about how P'karan was killed. All they know is they have a life now. Their children are given a second chance at education and a real life. Their children are not abducted and used to be conon fodder for the so called "protector" of the Tamil people.

Here's a question for you.

Q. A father and mother with one of their children taken by force to be a child soldier who got killed in battle, has 3 more children whom they love. What do they want for their children's future?

a. A seperate country for them led by LTTE

b. Education for their children and development in their villages

You tell me.

Hiranya Malwatta

at 00:34 on December 14th, 2009

"over the past three days, only 22,443 of the 112,062 refugees resident in camps had availed of the facility. Of them, 9, 717 had come back"

If anyone here wants to dispute this statistic, please contact UN or any of the aid agencies who are working at the camps.

lalith

at 20:56 on December 15th, 2009

B12N,

Hope I didn't wake you up.

Tamilnet again?

lalith

at 20:59 on December 15th, 2009

The IDP's will vote for Mahinda Rajapaksa. This is for sure. Write to the KTTE moghul "tamilnet' and tell them to prove otherwise.

Hiranya, who is this Prabhakaran you are talking about? I can't remember such a name. Is he dead?

chester2009

at 22:20 on February 20th, 2010

http://www.paradisepotions.com/

vssubramaniam

at 01:04 on March 2nd, 2010

This is the official version coming out of the SL bamboo curtain. The vivid TV images of bone starved IDPs being herded in hundreds of thousands into camps cramped and insanitary and starving conditions moved the hearts of many that support was swiftly forthcoming for the IDP kins from abroad. India/TN also responded to this cruelty funding through the SL authorities to alleviate the IDPs sufferings but how much reached the victims remains a mystery. Rs 25 000 was promised but only Rs 5000 was given on release; pittance to support families dropped off inhumanly in desolate places. The diaspora funds are meant to support kin to avoid starvation but there is widespread reluctance to fund the repair of houses and other assets for fear that SL and the likes of Lalith will not hesitate to unleash scotched earth destruction of everything standing again and again. Resources are scare and the world would not desire to support wasteful funding. Incidentally the release in the initial months was conditional to return by night, later within 15 days. The outside world is better informed on these despite Lalith's claims. These comments are sure to be labeled as the ramblings of a LTTE supporter. But this will not discourage us from supporting suffering humanity from SL atrocities.