Floods: Eezham Tamils need a government for them

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 January 2011, 15:43 GMT]
While the Eastern Province is 100 percent affected by the floods in the last two weeks, seriously harming and displacing hundreds of thousands, the SL president Mahinda Rajapaksa visited only the partially affected Polonnaruwa district in the North Central Province and returned to Colombo. The assistance that was meant for the East was diverted to the SL military at Kudumpimalai. Flood relief is totally politicised by Colombo’s factions led by the East chief minister Chandrakanthan, SL deputy minister Muralitharan and another SL deputy minister Hisbullah. Eezham Tamils are left without a government even in meeting natural disasters is the public feeling in the North and East. Meanwhile, Mr. Muralitharan calling the diaspora to send relief confirms once again that the SL government is not meant for Tamils, commented reports from the East.

Organisations in the North and East cautioned the diaspora to send relief only through independent trusts functioning in the flood affected districts.

SL president Mahinda Rajapaksa is reportedly seeking assistance from some foreign countries. These countries should keep in mind the partiality of ‘Mahinda thinking,’ relief organisations in the North and East said.

Since 23 December last year large tracts of the country of Eezham Tamils in the North and East of the island of Sri Lanka is seriously affected by floods. The affliction is 100 percent in the East.

The worst affected is the Batticaloa district.

7 died, 2 missing and nearly half a million people of all the 14 divisions of the Batticaloa district have been affected by the floods.

Around 200, 000 from the Batticaloa district alone are staying in welfare centres.

The Paduvaankarai region of Batticaloa district is totally submerged in floods. A 15 year- old boy was washed away and succumbed to the floods in Vellaaveli division.

More than 336,000 people are affected in the Ampaa’rai district.

Factional politics of Colombo-supporting Chandrakanthan and Muralitharan reflect adversely in relief work, especially in the Ma’nmunaippattu and Aaraiyampathi divisions, local people said.

The humanitarian work is tainted by the competition between the TMVP of Chandrakanthan and SLFP minister Muralitharan who focus on the forthcoming SL local bodies elections in the province.

SL Deputy minister, Mr. Hisbullah is allegedly focusing only on the relief of Muslim areas.



Chronology: