Resettlement of 97,000 IDPs expedited after polls
by Shanika SRIYANANDA
The Government has expedited the resettlement of 97,000 Internally
Displaced Persons (IDPs) living in welfare centres and with foster
families in Vavuniya, from February 2. It was delayed due to the January
26 presidential polls.
Secretary to the Ministry of Resettlement and Disaster Relief
Services U.L.M. Haldeen said that resettling IDPs was delayed for
one-and-a-half months during the run up to the polls as the Government
intended to give the IDPs their right to vote freely.
Following the instructions by the Commissioner of Elections,
Dayananda Dissanayake, the Government Agents of Kilinochchi and
Mullaitivu provided facilities for the IDPs to vote. After May 19, last
year, the Government sheltered nearly 300,000 IDPs, who were kept
forcibly by the LTTE as hostages, in welfare camps in Vavuniya.
When asked about the January 31 deadline, in which the Government
declared to resettle the entire IDP population, he said that no one had
given an assurance about a deadline.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa had given January 31 as the date to
resettle all IDPs if the groundwork - mainly the de-mining was
completed. He did not give any deadline as such but said that the
Government would do its best”, he said.
Declining to give a deadline to send all Internally Displaced Persons
home, Haldeen said that this depends on the progress of the de-mining of
former LTTE held areas which were heavily mined. “ We have accelerated
the de-mining with the help of the Army and other de-mining
organisations”, he said.
He said that all IDPs who were resettled were provided with basic and
infrastructure facilities. “All schools, hospitals and co-operative
shops are functioning well.
The administrative structure has been restored. Five schools have
been re-opened in the Karachchi division, he said. According to
statistics, over 10,995 IDPs in Mullaitivu and 17,814 IDPs in
Kilinochchi have been resettled so far.
“This number will be higher as some IDPs stayed with their foster
families including relatives, an official of the Competent Authority of
Resettlement said. Government Agent Mullaitivu Emelda Sukumar said that
after the presidential polls, IDPs were resettled expeditiously and over
1,086 families, who were with their relatives and foster families had
been resettled in Thunukkai.
“Another batch of 1,000 families will be resettled in three Grama
Sevaka divisions in Ottisudan”, she said.
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