Sri Lanka: Over 15,000 IDP families to be resettled

by lalith | August 17, 2009 at 08:57 pm

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The Government yesterday said over 15,000 IDP families from the Jaffna district will be resettled in their original homes soon.

According to Resettlement and Relief Services Minister Rishad Badiudeen, the authorities have already identified over 15,000 displaced families who claim themselves to be the residents of Jaffna and their details have been forwarded to the authorities in the Jaffna district.

These families are now living in welfare centres in the Vavuniya and Mannar districts.

"We have already sent the details of over 15,000 families to the Police , Jaffna Government Agent and respective Divisional Secretariats to ascertain whether they are permanent residents in the Jaffna district".

The Minister stressed that they would be resettled in their original homes in the Jaffna district after the Government officials gave an assurance that they are permanent residents of the Jaffna district.

"The Presidential Task Force on Northern Development under the chairmanship of Senior Presidential Advisor MP Basil Rajapaksa is working tirelessly to expedite the demining process to facilitate the resettlement drive and it is committed to resettled as much displaced civilians as possible within the time frame of 180 days, the Minister said.

The Security Forces and teams from India and various NGOs are in the process of clearing mines in residential areas in the north and resettlement would be started on the completion of this process.

The homes damaged during the war are being repaired now. Most of these repairs are being done by the civil engineering units of the services. The homes of the 15,000 IDPs who are to be resettled are ready now, and that particular area is mostly de-mined and the finishing demining operations are in progress.

Bitter lessons have been learnt throughout the world where civilians have been allowed to go back to their homes after wars were concluded. Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos are typical examples where many innocent civilians have lost their lives or limbs merely because those areas were not demined by the respective Governments.

What makes the demining process difficult in Sri Lanka is the haphazzard mining done by the LTTE Terrorists during the later stages of the war, not knowing the right path of advance of the advancing Government troops.