Rebuilding bridges, roads key to swift recovery- Gajendran

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 January 2005, 05:15 GMT]
Speaking to TamilNet after visiting Batticaloa and Ampara Districts, Tamil National Alliance, Jaffna District MP Mr.Selvarajah Gajendran said: "LTTE has the capability to build bridges and lay roads. I request the international community to provide them with equipment and materials through NGOs so that recovery can be swift."


A dozer clearing the debris of damaged roadway under the supervision of Col. Banu in an SLA controlled area.

TamilNet: Can you tell us about the present situation in the East?
Gajendran: The killer waves of 26th December 2004, have wiped out most of the coastal villages from Thondamanaru in the North to Pottuvil in the East. All survivors in these villages have become refugees. In Ampara District alone 10,500 people have lost their lives. Relief workers in the Batticaloa, Ampara Districts, are facing a lot of challenges, mostly due to transport problems in taking relief materials to these areas. Most of the roads are badly damaged and 15 bridges were washed out due to flooding as a result of incessant rains and due to the killer waves. More than 1000 Liberation Tigers fighters are fully involved in relief operations and burying the dead, providing food, shelter, clothing. TRO is also there to provide assistance. The Jaffna University Medical Students with a few doctors are conducting a mobile medical service.

Komari village in Amparai district completely destroyed by the Tsunami. Photo by TRO Document Unit

People without shelter in Amparai district face hardships in rain. Photo by TRO Document Unit

On 27th December, I took food items in 13 lorries from Jaffna to Batticaloa. Of these, three were sent to Trincomalee and the rest to Ampara considering the fact that no relief has reached Ampara. At the same time lorry loads of relief items are being continuously sent to Batticaloa and Ampara. So far no relief from the Government has reached Ampara. We distribute our relief items to all without any discrimination of race or religion.

Large amount of relief materials collected from Muslims and Sinhalese are sent to Ampara but these are all given to camps where Muslims are sheltered and the Tamils have not benefited.

Special Task Force(STF) is forcibly preventing relief reaching the Tamil camps. They block vehicles carrying relief items to Tamils in the Ampara District. They tell the people carrying the relief items that the LTTE would confiscate these items for their use if they take it directly.

Even the LTTE local commanders Banu, Ram, Janarthanan, Kowsalyan, Kuilan were in the field with their cadres attending to the needs of the refugees at great risk to their lives. Although I was happy when I saw them among the refugees, I was worried for their security.

Komari village in Amparai district completely destroyed by the Tsunami. Photo by TRO Document Unit

Kallady village in Batticaloa completely destroyed by the Tsunami. Photo by TRO Document Unit

Roads and bridges should be repaired as a priority if the relief is to reach the displaced faster. So far the Government appears to have taken no steps to repair the roads and bridges so that rehabilitation measures could be accelerated.

LTTE has the capability to build bridges and lay roads. I request the international community to provide them with equipment and materials through NGOs.

TRO is fully involved in providing relief measures to the displaced.

TamilNet: How do you intend to improve the conditions in the East?
Gajendran: We are exerting pressure on the Sri Lanka Government to provide more assistance to the East and without delay. The displaced, who are sheltered in schools, are to be shifted to temporary sheds to be put up close to their homes. This will enable them to rehabilitate themselves slowly with outside assistance. Most of the displaced are fisher families. They lost their shelter, fishing gear and their livelihood. We have to provide them with houses, boats, and nets so that they can resume their traditional trade.

TamilNet: How are you going to fulfill these needs?
Gajendran: We have already met the foreign diplomats and discussed with them the needs of our displaced people. We are also meeting representatives of the Sri Lanka Government and discussing our problems. But we do not know how far the SriLankan Government would come forward to assist in the recovery. However we will continue to try.

TamilNet: The TNA has rejected the invitation of Ms Kumaratunge to join the Committee set up for Urgent Humanitarian Needs of the Displaced. Can you explain this stand?
Gajendran: I think you are referring to a meeting convened by the Sri Lanka's President. We didnít receive any invitation. A meeting of the leaders of political parties will take place today. We shall try to get full compensation for our people who lost their houses and equipment.

TamilNet: The importance of an ISGA has become more evident at this juncture to reconstruct and rehabilitate our homeland?
Gajendran: Definitely. We should have the administrative authority in our hands to build up our homeland. We donít expect the SriLankan Government to come forward to reconstruct and rehabilitate our devastated regions.

TamilNet: What is your comment about the troops being sent by other countries?
Gajendran:We don't need their soldiers. What we need from the international community is machinery. We would have needed assistance to recover missing persons, dead bodies, and people stranded on 26th and 27th December. Thousands lost their lives in the Batticaloa District within as well as outside the LTTE controlled areas. LTTE fully mobilized its cadres and engaged in relief measures and now the operation is complete. What we need from them is machinery to remove the debris and other equipment to start rehabilitation. For this they need not send troops. These countries are using this as a guise to gain foothold in SriLanka.

TamilNet: Tamils in India are also affected by Tsunamis.
Gajendran: We send our sympathies to them. We are further concerned because the affected people in India are also Tamils .