East CM wants foreign funds for rehabilitation

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 June 2008, 16:16 GMT]
"We need assistance from foreign countries to provide dwellings to resettle displaced," said Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan, the Chief Minister of Eastern Province and the head of TMVP paramilitary. "My administration will not show any discrimination while maintaining law and order with our own police force," he said.

"We will not fail in our duty to resettle the IDPs in their own villages. We will set up a Provincial Rehabilitation Authority to expedite the resettlement process and in a transparent manner. We need assistance from foreign countries to provide dwellings to resettle displaced," Pllayan said.

All displaced families sheltered in other parts of the country and in India would be resettled in their traditional villages, he said.

"We need police powers to maintain law and order in the eastern province to ensure security to resettled displaced families to live without fear in their traditional villages and my administration has been waiting for the devolution of police powers from the centre."

"Every police station will be manned by Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese," he proclaimed.

The first policy statement of Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, Chief Minister of the East Provincial Council (EPC) was adopted in the council meeting after two-day debate on Thursday by a majority of 25 votes. 26 councilors voted for the statement. Councilors of the United National Party (UNP), Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and Democratic National Tamil Alliance (DNTA) voted with the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA). The sole councilor of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Wimal Piyatissa (Trincomalee district) voted against it. 27 of 37 councilors of the EPC were present at that time of voting.

The SLMC leader Rauf Hakim, opened the two-day debate on Wednesday in the capacity of the leader of opposition Wednesday afternoon when the council resumed its sitting in afternoon following the keynote address by the East Governor Mohan Wijewickrema in the morning.

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