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Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: 169, 938 IDP's resettled : 112,062 IDP's to be resettled

Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe told the media :" As a result of the speedy re-settlement program the number of IDP's in welfare villages has come down to 112,062 from 282,000 " as a total of 169, 938 - or over 50%- have already been resettled in their original homes . Of this total of 112,062 , 105,664 IDP's from Vavuniya, 1738 from Jaffna and 2,298 from Trincomalee have to be resettled . It is noted that there are around 2360 IDP's receiving medical attention in the hospitals. The Government of Sri Lanka hopes to complete the resettlement of the remaining IDP's by the end of 2009 despite the inclement weather conditions which has resulted in the slowing down of de-mining activities in the region . However, with the additional 19 de- mining machines added to the existing six which were in service earlier, the Government is hopeful to have the entire area de- mined to enable the IDP's to return to their original homesteads with confidence and in an environment of peace and security . With the harnessing of the additional brand new de-mining machines, more attention has now be diverted to accelerate the work to improve public roads as the A- 9 and A -32 , public places , railway tracks as well as the areas demarcated for resettlement . They have now been declared mine "free".

De-mining operations to clear 529,943, 909 square meters has cost the Government US $ 79 million .Guided by a directive by His Excellency President Mahinda Rakapaksa to provide the IDP's with their daily needs , it required not only planning and coordination by the Government and its officials , but also a massive, dedicated and sustained commitment to provide the sudden influx of nearly 287,000 people who were rescued by the Security Forces from the clutches of the LTTE. Thousands had to be provided with food , medical facilities, shelter and clothing as almost all of them had walked many miles exposed to the elements seeking safety and security in the government controlled areas .

The IDP's have now been granted freedom of movement "in and out" of the welfare villages with effect from 1st December. It is reported that 22,443 IDP's have made use of this facility of which 9778 IDPs returned . Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe noted that "Any person can leave the welfare villages and return as they wish . No action will betaken against the persons who won't come back to the IDP villages". He also clarified to those in doubt that "The freedom is not limited to 15 days ". He rejected some reports in the media that the Security Forces will go after the IDP's if they don't come back .He said " It is up to them to decide whether to return or not. What the government did was to grant the freedom for them to move away as they wish. However, the Government is carrying out the welfare activities in welfare villages further as usual".