August new deadline for IDP resettlement - Minister
June 3, 2010 07:43 am
The Sri Lankan government has issued
a new deadline to resettle tens of thousands of conflict-displaced still living
in camps. The new Minister of Resettlement, Milroy Fernando, told IRIN an
August deadline was “realistic” and that the process would be expedited to
ensure people could return home as soon as possible.
More than 60,000 internally displaced people (IDPs)
continue to live in three government camps, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says.
The new Minister of Resettlement, Milroy Fernando, told
IRIN an August deadline was “realistic” and that the process would be expedited
to ensure people could return home as soon as possible.
“There was a previous deadline of April but that was not
feasible,” Fernando said, describing the process as a “top priority” for the
nation.
“A lot of work has been concluded post-elections,
including reconstruction of homes and the introduction of several livelihood
assistance programmes. The new deadline is therefore realistic,” he said.
Among his ministry’s top priorities was to go beyond
resettlement and initiate livelihood support mechanisms for the displaced, he
said.
“To facilitate resettlement, the de-mining process too
is being expedited. People are so keen to return home. But as a responsible
government, we simply cannot allow people to return to their original villages
before the completion of the de-mining work. People are very eager to go back
to their own villages but we prevent those wanting to return to areas that are
still uncleared,” he said.
“We are currently making some plans to resettle and
offer livelihood support in their original villages. To boost their
livelihoods, the ministry now offers fishing gear and agricultural equipment
for identified persons,” he said.
Under the World Food Programme (WFP), IDPs are provided
with food relief for six months from the date of return, while UNHCR provides a
shelter grant of US$220 paid in two instalments.
“A new livelihood support programme will soon be under
way - especially catering to the agricultural and fishing requirements,”
Fernando added.
More than 236,000 people have returned home or are
staying with host families a year after the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam, which had been fighting for an independent Tamil homeland for more
than two decades.
On 28 May, the Sri Lankan president issued instructions
to shut down the remaining camps within the next three months, including Menik
Farm - the largest of the three - outside the town of
IRIN
