Colombo: The Sri Lankan government has
failed to make adequate welfare provision for the 136,000
Tamil civilians it plans to release from internment camps,
rights activists and opposition parties said on Sunday.
Heeding international calls for the camps to be closed,
the authorities said the remaining detainees -- held since the
military finally crushed the Tamil Tiger rebels in May --
would be allowed out.
Many observers welcomed yesterday's announcement, but
warned the government that it must organise a structured
resettlement programme.
"We are insisting that the International Committee of the
Red Cross or the UNHCR should be present when people are
resettled," said Nimalka Fernando, spokeswoman for the
Democratic People's Movement.
She said the government's plan to "haphazardly" send the
civilians back to their villages was "seriously flawed".
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) said the
Tamils were leaving the much-criticised camps without
receiving any long-term help in providing themselves with food
or rebuilding their homes and livelihoods.
The government yesterday said the remaining 136,000
people held in the state-run camps in the north of the island
would be released by January 31.
It maintained that the deadline was in line with a
promise to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, but
international aid workers have not been authorised to monitor the resettlement process.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, November 22, 2009, 22:09