Jaffna IDPs oppose Palaly runway extension

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 November 2004, 03:23 GMT]
Union of Welfare Organizations of Displaced (UWOD) in Jaffna District Thursday in a press release appealed to the Government of India not to lend any assistance to the Sri Lanka government's plan to extend the Palaly airbase runway which will make the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people permanent in refugee camps and welfare centres, civil sources said.

Several thousands of acres of agricultural lands and houses were brought under High Security Zones (HSZs) of the Sri Lanka Army when it first extended the Palaly runway for military purpose fifteen years ago forcing hundreds of thousands of Tamil families internally displaced, the UWOD reminded the Indian government.

The proposed defence pact between the governments of India and Sri Lanka would cause bitterness and irreparable harm to the centuries old historical relationship the Tamils in Sri Lanka have with India,UWOD said.

"We, Tamils in Sri Lanka expect the Indian government to respect our feelings and to recognize our legitimate aspirations," the press release of the UWOD concluded.