Resettle Tamil refugees in original villages: UN

The United Nations has expressed concern over the non-resettlement of Sri Lankan Tamil war refugees in their original villages in the former conflict zone in North Lanka on the grounds that the armed forces need these villages for their camps and other facilities.

Subinay Nandy, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sri Lanka, said in a statement here on Monday, that the 346 people, who had been taken from the Menik Farm refugee camp to Kepapilavu in Mullaitivu district, were unable to return to their villages because these had been occupied by the military.

Nandy pointed out that the returnees were being relocated in government-owned land where they were expected to wait for formal confirmation of what was going to happen to their lands and what kind of compensation would be provided if they could not return to their original homes.

He further said that there were still many people living with friends and relatives, particularly in Jaffna and Vavuniya, or living in welfare centres. Some of these people had been displaced for years. They needed a lasting solution, he added.  “It is important that the displaced people should be able to make an informed and voluntary decision about their future, including being part of the planning and management of their resettlement,” Nandy said.  He, however, appreciated the closure of the Manik Farm camp, the largest and the last refugee camp, set up in 2009 towards the end of the war,to accommodate about 225,000 Tamil civilian refugees. The people from Kepapilavu were the last refugees in the sprawling camp. “The closure of the camp was a significant sign of the transition from conflict to sustainable peace and the commitment of the government to resettling tens of thousands of people back to their homes,” Nandy said.