Colombo: Thousands of civilians have been
resettled in the high security zone (HSZ) in the northern
Jaffna peninsula, the heartland of the Tamils of Sri Lanka and
the ethnic conflict that ended in 2009.
"We do not want HSZs in the country any further as we
have no enemies among ourselves. The country is now under a
single peace zone as wished by the president," said Basil
Rajapaksa, the powerful minister of economic development and
the younger brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Some 12,200 people were resettled in the Mawattapuram
HSZ in Jaffna's Walikamam north sector.
The government said the Mawattapuram HSZ was set up
during the time the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) set
themselves up in Jaffna following the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord
signed in July 1987.
The accord between the then Indian prime minister
Rajiv Gandhi and the Sri Lankan president Junius Jayawardene
led to the arrival of the Indian troops to Sri Lanka's north
to supervise the Indian brokered agreement with the LTTE.
Dismantling of HSZs in Jaffna has for long been a
major Tamil demand to restore civilian life in the LTTE free
environment.
Sri Lankan military captured the Jaffna peninsula in
1995, which was earlier the stronghold of the now defeated
LTTE.
The LTTE waged a bloody three-decade civil war for a
separate state for the Tamils of Sri Lanka, alleging
discrimination against the minority community at the hands of
the majority Sinhalas.
The government forces crushed the rebels in May 2009
and ended the conflict that killed between 80,000 and 100,000
people.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, May 11, 2011, 00:39