Renewed relationship in North and South

by Shanika SRIYANANDA

It was yet another busy day for the young doctors at the mini hospital at Manik Farm welfare centre, where the remaining internally displaced people are being looked after. The team of doctors had a time with the overflowing IDPs soon after the military rescued civilians trapped in the LTTE hell-hole, last year. Today, these IDP's are free.

They are like knitted family who visit the health centre not only for medical advice or treatment but to share their family problems with the doctors. Some IDPs even bring a curry or a fried fish cooked in their tiny makeshift huts to share it with the doctors. Some of these doctors have helped the schoolchildren to continue their education.

These IDPs, were brainwashed by the LTTE to make them believe that the Sinhalese were 'killers' - but today they share their happiness and sorrow with the Sinhalese.

A Minister who was on a 'fact-finding mission' last week soon after assuming his duties, observed how those IDPs were getting on with the Southerners.

"I was happy to witness their renewed relationship. The two communities, especially the Wanni Tamils thought that Sinhalese in the South were 'demons' who wanted to wipe out the Tamils from the country. The LTTE brainwashed them and made them to hate Sinhalese. But that mentality is no more with them", Deputy Minister of Resettlement Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan said.

Muralitharan, who was once the trustworthy bodyguard of the LTTE leader Prabhakaran, said that this was one instance to show how 'reconciliation' had begun after the defeat of the LTTE.

"Not only in Manikfarm, but all over the North and the East, where the Sinhalese officials work, this mutual co-existence has emerged. The two communities who were apart for three decades have now began to understand each other", he said.

He, said the soldiers in the Northern region play a major role in the reconciliation process as they have now become part and parcel of the Vanni people.

"These soldiers who once fought against the LTTE now help the IDPs in their day-to-day lives to re-build their houses, schools, roads, bridges and canals. They help them to clear their over-grown lands as well. The villagers and soldiers are good friends now", Minister Muralitharan said.

He said that the wrong image the LTTE had created of the Sinhalese is not there any more.

"The help they receive from the government and its officials have warmed up the lost relationship between the two communities, who lived in harmony for centuries. Some had become emotional when the doctors and soldiers help them in their needs. One IDP woman said that she never expected the government to do so much for them. They did not have a choice as they had to live under the LTTE rule", he said.

Minister Muralitharan said, that people in the North and the East are enjoying life for the first time in their lives due to the rapid development process taking place in their villages, which remained neglected earlier.

According to Minister Muralitharan, the only issue remaining is the resettling of less than 70,000 IDPs. "We have plans to speed up the resettlement process. Last week, over 4,000 were resettled in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu. Day-to-day activities have begun in the resettled villages. The process got delayed due to de-mining but it has been expedited now", he said.

He said, President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who eradicated the LTTE is now fully committed to look after the Tamils in the country. "He wants to do away with the Emergency laws but the LTTE activities abroad prevented him from doing so", he said adding there is no possibility of LTTE re-emerging as Tamils have endorsed them as 'traitors', who destroyed their lives and future.

Minister Muralitharan said that he was confident that the LTTE could not prop up as it has no leadership or people's support. "Those who are sticked to the LTTE's ideology cannot express their views openly because Tamils will go against them. The other main factor is that Tamils want to see a better future for their next generation. They need facilities for education, health and housing to live a decent life", he said.

According to the Minister Muralitharan, Tamils, especially the people of Vanni, are very happy that the southern politicians are coming to their areas. " Northern Tamils earlier thought that they were a neglected, ill-treated lot. This mentality made them to rally around the LTTE. Last week, Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa visited the North and he was warmly welcomed by the people", he said.

He said, the attitude of the Vanni people had changed after defeating the LTTE and this was significantly proved at the last Parliamentary polls. "The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) can claim that they have secured 14 seats without LTTE's presence. But, when compared with the 2.3 million Tamil population in the country only less than 10 percent had voted for the TNA. So how can they claim that they are the sole representatives of the Tamils?", he said.

"Out of 46 percent registered voters of the North and the East TNA had got only 12 percent and 27 percent for the UNP and UPFA. This is also an indication that people of the North and the East want to be in the national political stream and they do not want LTTE proxies to represent them", he said.