New light for the displaced in Sri Lanka

Following much pressure from the opposition, civil society and the international community on the slow progress in the resettlement of some 350,000 internally displaced persons (IDP), the Sri Lankan government has finally taken a step forward in the process. Over the past few days nearly 6000 refugees have been released; and according to the government, another 40,000 would be released within this week. Most of them would be from Manik Farm in Vavuniya, the largest batch to be released since the end of the war in May this year.

The Ministry for Disaster Management and Human Rights says that as of October 26, the figure for IDPs held in camps have come down for the first time to 200,000. From Manik Farm alone, 45 000 have been resettled in their original districts of domicile such as Jaffna, Mannar, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Vavuniya and Killinochi.

According to the government a report issued by the international monitoring center for IDP’s says that Sri Lanka is the only country that has managed to resettle the largest number of IDPs within such a short period. Government’s reports say that 480 million rupees a month have been spent on their daily needs. A delegation from Tamil Nadu, India, comprising of MPs of DMK, Congress and VCK, also expressed their satisfaction with the measures taken by the government and has offered to lend more support if needed.

Walter Kalin, representative of the UN secretary general on human rights for IDPs, spoke of the situation in camps to the UN General Assembly on October 27 of October. After visiting the country twice in the past six months, he acknowledged that progress has been made where the government has speeded up the screening procedures and released those who did not pose a threat. He also said that the ultimate goal is to restore freedom of movement for the IDPs and finding a durable solution for them.

Despite the progress that has been made there are parties that remain skeptical about the situation. The party in opposition, United National Party (UNP) says that the government is continuing to hold the displaced by force; however, the government has denied such claims. Amnesty International in a report says that the camps are overcrowded, and without adequate water, sanitation and food and healthcare facilities. Even a report issued recently by the European Union may have adverse effects on the country. The EU expects to vote in the next two months on whether or not to suspend Sri Lanka’s Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) plus concession. The concession was granted to Sri Lanka after the tsunami in December 2004; but due to poor conditions in the welfare camps and human rights violations at present, EU nations believe that the Sri Lankan government does not deserve the concession any longer.

One of the biggest post-conflict challenges facing the Sri Lankan government is the resettlement and rehabilitation of the displaced community. The demining process in many areas still needs to be completed. The government has been working with selected organizations but has called for more assistance to speed up the process. However, with such criticism clouding over them, the government still has to prove whether they are true to their word and worthy of any form of international assistance.