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Q+A - Why are aid workers concerned about Sri Lanka's camps?
Written by: Katie Nguyen
Displaced women queue up at Sri Lankan camp. REUTERS
LONDON (AlertNet) - Sri Lanka has asked aid agencies to scale down operations on the Indian Ocean island now that a 25-year insurgency by the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has ended. The move has raised concerns among aid groups about the care of some 300,000 people, mostly Tamils, who were uprooted during the last phase of the fighting that ended in May and are now being held in government-run camps. Although the government has announced its intention to dismantle the so-called "welfare villages" as soon as possible and plans to return the displaced in six months, aid workers are worried about Sri Lanka's treatment of its displaced. Here are some questions and answers about conditions in the camps. WHAT ARE AID WORKERS' CONCERNS? ACCESS TO THE CAMPS: Aid workers have complained about a lack of access to displacement camps which are run by the military, whose troops have been accused by rights groups of abuses against the Tamil population. Many aid workers view the government's call for a scaling down of aid operations as a deliberate move to prevent outsiders from witnessing conditions inside the camps. Aid workers say the lack of free movement for the displaced in the camps is tantamount to arbitrary detention. Aid workers and rights groups are also concerned about violations such as abductions and disappearances that are reportedly taking place in the camps. RESETTLEMENT: Aid workers are concerned the Colombo government intends to keep the camps running indefinitely despite its vow to resettle most of the displaced in six months. They say the government has been pushing for semi-permanent structures to be built in the camps and are worried the government may use slow progress on de-mining as a pretext for stopping people from going back home. Rights groups say the government needs to have a more comprehensive plan to return and resettle all internal refugees in the country, including those displaced in previous phases of the conflict. Sri Lanka says it is in control of the refugee situation and that it needs time to weed out potential Tamil Tiger infiltrators hiding in the camps. The government is wary of aid agencies it has complained helped the Tigers in the past. RESTRICTIONS: Many aid workers say their ability to work continues to be hampered by the government denying visas to colleagues, interfering in recruitment and setting out rules that lead to a quick turnover of staff. According to a report in The Times, the government has imposed a 0.9 per cent tax on all funding for aid groups, saying the tax is designed to crack down on non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that abused Sri Lankan law and squandered their funds on their own staff after the tsunami. Some aid workers have even questioned whether it is worth staying in Sri Lanka given the restrictions on their activities, saying Sri Lanka is not an aid dependent country. WHAT HAS PRESIDENT MAHINDA RAJAPAKSA SAID ABOUT THE CAMPS, THE FACILITIES IN THE CAMPS AND PLANS FOR THE DISPLACED? "I would say the condition in our camps is the best any country has," Rajapaksa told The Hindu newspaper in an interview. "We supply water. There is a problem with lavatories. That is not because of our fault. The money that comes from the EU and others, it goes to the NGOs and the U.N. They are very slow; disbursing money is very slow. "We supply the water tanks. We have spent over 2 billion rupees. Giving electricity, giving water, now we are giving televisions to them. They have telephone facilities. Schools have been established. Some of the leaders are using mobile phones. I had a special meeting on the disposal of waste. I sent a team of specialists to see how mosquitoes can be eradicated. "We know there are shortcomings. Slowly, we have to overcome them. In some camps there are no problems. What these people I sent told me: they are satisfied with the housing, shelter. They have undergone much worse conditions earlier [when they were under the LTTE's control]. Their problem is movement, freedom of movement. Since there are security concerns, I don't know how to do that immediately. "I said on 20th of May that as soon as possible, we must send them to places where they can stay. My problem is that we have to get the certificate of de-mining from the U.N. We have already sent people back to several places. As soon as we get the clearance, I'm ready to do that. But before that I must get the clearance from the U.N. about the de-mining. We can't send them back to a place where there are just jungles. Every square centimetre has been mined by the LTTE. If something happens, I am responsible. "My personal feeling is that as soon as possible, we have to resettle these people. We have to send them to the villages. But my problem is that to provide security for them, I will have to recruit another 200,000 (soldiers)! I don't want to do that." Sources: Reuters, The Hindu, AlertNet, the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office to Geneva
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15 responses to “Q+A - Why are aid workers concerned about Sri Lanka's camps?”
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10 Jul 2009 17:28:44 GMT
Hindu editor N RAM should read this revise his article for betterment of human values. Other day i had read very bad report by N RAM in Hind news paper and it was almost telling that Srilankan present govt is GOLD COW and only Tamil people are BAD. I wish this guy n RAM aksed prove the above in international media.
10 Jul 2009 17:29:42 GMT
Aid workers in Srilanka are having to face a very dangerous situation in Srilanka for many years. Where peoples are having years of dangerous livings due to the long ethnic human conflict,natural calamities like cyclone, tsunami and annual flooding. Aid agencies are helping world over peoples in difficulties at difficult times. But in Srilanka many international aid agencies have a ruff time in dealing with government and many local staff members are arrested,killed and abducted without any trace.
Politicians and rulers in Srilanka have a special hatred towards aid agencies and their staff,because they are well paid and don't come at all under their control. Because the foreign assistance goes direct to the affected people they are loosing their popularity. Another great loss is that they are loosing all the kickback commissions which they usually get from contracts. More irritating action is that when they want to punish all these wanni residents of 3000,000 for supporting defeated LTTE,the aid agencies are trying to help them and save their lives. Why is President Mahinda Rajapaksa speaking about the inadequate toilets,while there are thousands of unused toilets in the towns of Killinchi,Mullaitheevu and Puthukudiyiruppu with enough water access. He don't want to move these peoples to their own places and allow them to live as free citizens any more. The UN, EU and other aid agencies have gone through the past experiences of dealing with the Srilanka government,when money was given for tsunami reconstruction have ended in private bank accounts. That is why the money is being given to aid agencies to look after these unforunate IDPs. All these peoples are healthy living peoples from wanni area in the north of Srilanka contributing to the economy of Srilanka by their agriculture and fishing industries. Only during the months of March to May 09 in the conflict no fire zone and in the high security Vavuniya camps from June to July 09 they are going through these unhealthy life threatening life. There will be no security threat by these peoples any more,as they want to have a peaceful life back in their villages,only security threat will be the abductions and disappearances as it is happening in other parts of Srilanka.13 Jul 2009 10:20:05 GMT
Sri Lanka has a lot to hide. Destruction of evidences is not complete yet. It calls 'humanitarian operations with zero civilian casulaty' when shelled tarpaulin huts and hospitals. It is calling 'Welfare Centres' the barbed wire open cells.
This is a mind game to make the minority population vegetable. It is reported about some subcontinent media is bribed. Some put casticism in the forefront.13 Jul 2009 10:20:39 GMT
Hindu editor N RAM seems to be on the payroll of Sri Lankan government. He never questioned the validity of keeping the IDPs in the camps, and asked about other alternatives of letting these IDPs to stay with their relatives in other parts of the country. This would be the question of any independence journalist. N Ram is a sheer mouth piece of the totalitarian and demonic SL government. Are these relatives houses in other parts of the SL got mined too? Possibly by the goons of SL government thugs and their lapdogs.
13 Jul 2009 10:22:28 GMT
Structural violence, Is Humanity failed in Sri Lanka?
I am not worried about the opinion of the Tamil people... now we cannot think of them, not about their lives or their opinion... the more you put pressure in the north, the happier the Sinhalese people will be here... Really if I starve the Tamils out, the Sinhalese people will be happy. J.R.Jayawardene, Former President of Sri Lanka - London Daily Telegraph, 11th July 1983 It is a systematic genocide going in Sri lanka, we cannot tolerate it or we cannot be a silence spectator. Indra Gandhi Former Prime Minister of India in July 1983. Injustice to Tamils have been done systematically since independence to this day. When they tried reconciliation pacts with the party in power the opposition always opposed. When they tried peaceful means they were crushed and militarisation of Northeast began in the 60s. The message was: Tamils, you can't agitate for justice. When the youth began armed violence: draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act was enacted and arrests and disappearances have been going on to this day. No genuine investigations except a few 'eyewash' investigations go on for so long that many Tamils don't even bother to file cases and in cases ''tried'' none will be prosecuted: In 1956 Sinhala was made the sole official language of the island placing it on a position of superiority. This act of injustice was compounded in 1972 when Buddhism was made official religion of Sri Lanka - meaning Buddhists were superior to Tamils, Muslims, Christians and Hindus. "Discrimination on the basis of religion and language was further intensified by the burning of the great Tamil's cultural center in 1981 when the Sri Lankan armed securities in an act of petty and vicious vindictiveness put to flame the great repository of Tamil culture and two years later, there was a program against Tamils in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo, orchestrated and directed by ruling politicians. This culture of impunity is the severe ill of the Govt. The Law of the country was miserably failed to protect the vulnerable Tamils.UN and Amnesty International archives will prove it. Violence of LTTE is wrong. But the structural violence of successive governments is worse (systematic and slow genocide). There must be a mechanism whereby when states ill-treat their ethnic minorities, it can be arrested in early stages,and help to avoid them become failed state. In the last three years the whole of the heavily militarised Northeast has been nefariously cut off from the rest of the country and abduction-murders have run into thousands and no investigations!! Journalist after journalist was killed whenever they tried to question the government. Only military sponsored, embedded excursions are allowed in Northeast. This is an island and there has been no mass exodus into neighbouring countries which would have attracted more attention much earlier - Unfortunate oppressed and fortunate oppressor. The dictatorship masquerading democracy (Nazi Govt) is reborn in Sri lanka and robing the Tamils civilians and their children's life, education inhumanly in the notorious illegal concentration camps now . Their is a difference between a war ended by an agreement and a war ended by death and destruction. After many cruel and inhuman wars against Tamils in the Norteast, the final post war behavior of the Govt in Northeast is going on full gear for Lebensraum. Who will come forward to resolve this most vicious Sri Lankan intrastate crisis? A military defeat of LTTE's armed struggle cannot ,erase the justification of Tamil's self determination and liberation struggle, which has its justification under International law.13 Jul 2009 10:23:30 GMT
Very bias article trying very hard to misinform and twist facts. Whats the big deal with access restrictions. Can you please specify and tell why they are imposed. One time it was a restriction on some type of vehicles ,because these aid agencies were transporting LTTE in and out of camps. This dosn't mean the aid agensies has NO access. Who will take resposibilities if bombs are blasted? Gov has to safeguard all its citizens.
I see lot of articles on the progresss of re-settlement , please don't try to lie about govt trying to slow demining. What proof you have on that? We are sick of these LTTE paid journaluist writing absolute rubbish.13 Jul 2009 10:23:55 GMT
Only God can help these Tamil hostages held by Sri Lankan government supported by Ban Ki Moon (UN) & China & India. Systematic genocide was taking place before but now it's all taking place in public. Unfortunate that no one is willing to help these people since India & China are competing have dominance in Sri Lanka. I thought Sri Lanka wanted to free these people from LTTE, not to held them captives again. Shame on you IC & UN.
13 Jul 2009 10:25:01 GMT
Response to Muthyawan,
You wrote a lengthy article criticising the SL government and questioning why the IDP+//3//f/9-s are not allowed to go back to their villages immediately. I am surprised to observe you- and many of the NGOs, INGOs and human rights organizations- have conveniently ignored the fact that demining of the North is an essential prerequisite to resettlement. The SL government has set a target of resettling 80% of the population in the camps by end 2009. Your criticism is valid only if the government failed to achieve this target. My advice to you is to have a bit of common sense and be patient.13 Jul 2009 10:25:33 GMT
The problem is that 'aid' workers have not been honest as seen by their covert support to the terrorist group the LTTE..their governments still continue to manipulate their former colonies using 'aid' workers as a fifth column. And we continue to conflict amongst ourselves, making it easier for the 'aid' workers to continue exploiting our differences and weaknesses..and that is the tragedy. Our societies have historically helped each other in times of need and distress, and the need for foreign personnel to do so does not arise, particularly with their hidden agendas. So, please get lost.
13 Jul 2009 10:26:10 GMT
It's a shame that media like yourself used only the sinhalese reporters' bias reporting and the government supplied crap as news sources until the war came to an end resulting in this catastrophe. If only you had consistently reported what you knew to be the truth, perhaps it would not have come to this. Even now, only a select few report the situation accurately, whereas some like the corrupt 'Hindu' reporters are still being the mouth pieces of their pay masters trying to glorify the concentration camps. Hope you will not revert to your old ways. When it comes to reporting a particular country affairs, use outsiders who can be neutral. Esp. in lanka, pl do not use sinhalese reporters to cover the politics.
13 Jul 2009 10:28:23 GMT
What is the use of asking all these. International community is only doing lip service, while Sri Lanka is becoming a dictator state. Sri Lanka is making money out of Tamils misery by selling lunch parcels inside the camp. The already devasteted Tamils sell their golds to buy lunch parcels. Also army personnel has opened a new business of finding relatives in the camp for a fee. What is the action world doing? NOTHING. I say only free Tamileelam is the solution.
13 Jul 2009 10:29:07 GMT
If it goes like that then not one but thousends of Prabakaran will be born to teach a good lesson to the Sinhalese goverment and other countries licking....
13 Jul 2009 10:44:42 GMT
"My personal feeling is that as soon as possible, we have to resettle these people. We have to send them to the villages. But my problem is that to provide security for them, I will have to recruit another 200,000 (soldiers)! I don't want to do that."
It is very interesting to note that, he will need 200k solidiers for security before the settlement can be done. So, the priority number one is recruiting the soldiers. Thus, this leaves a conclusion in minds, the money the govt is asking for from the West and IMF to rehabilitate the Vanni people in the concentration camp, will be rather spent on "recruitment". India and China are abetting to this idea. Well GOSL declared that the "terrorism' is over and they have eliminated LTTE now, what security is he talking about? And to whom? It sounds like keep the whole of N & E under open prison, but for how long? this is a recipe for disaster for SL.........13 Jul 2009 11:26:38 GMT
There's clearly a dire need for aid workers inside the camps. The war left many thousands dead in the name of wiping out the LTTE. But it also left many seriously injured and in need of immediate eidcal attention. Currently they are enclosed in fenced camps which are under military `protection'. Three doctors who attended to these injured are imprisoned and are awaiting production in court for aiding and abetting the LTTE. The media was totally banned from the warzone and camps. ICRC has been asked to scale down its presence. Lord Malloch Brown is urging that ICRC should continue its humanitarian operation. This begs the question why the govt. is in a hurry to send aid workers packing. Had it not been for the aid workers there would have been more casualties. The only explanation is this govt. has absolutely no concern for the civilians inside barbed wired camps permanently erected. Eugenics in Germany in the 20th century during the two World Wars is being repeated in Sri Lanka. This govt. wants Sri Lanka for Sinhala Buddhists only. As it was stated ad nauseum `Sinhala shall be the official language of Ceylon but Tamil also would be given equal status' the intention od the govt. is crystal clear.
Herein lies the intention of successive Sinhala govts. The triumph of annihilating the LTTE has gained this govt. popular Sinhala votes not to mention the approval of some minority Tamils and Muslims who have been given show-piece portfolios in the govt. and allowed to go about armed inside the camps for IDPs. The international community needs to continue its opposition to the subjugation of Tamil civilians who played no part in this war game. Pearl Thevanayagam17 Jul 2009 03:22:54 GMT
300,000 civilians are kept forcibly within barbed wires and guarded by Sinhala soldiers. No relatives, human rights workers or independent journalists are allowed to visit or talk to these internees. Their MPs tried to get permission tovisit these camps to talk and listen to their constituents but the mono-ethnic majority government denied permission. What does it want to hide from the international community?