Fishing ban said hampering resettlement

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority of the North (RRAN) has requested Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga, to issue an order so that displaced persons in the area between Tellipalai and Kankesanthurai north of Jaffna town, which includes the army's vast High Security Zone, are allowed to resettle in their original homes, said sources in Jaffna.

Much of this is part the Kankesanthurai- Palaly Sri Lanka Army base complex and other military institutions.

Meanwhile, 500 refugees families from Vasanthapuram in Ilavalai, 14 km north of Jaffna town, who were permitted to resettle in their homes, refused to do so.

The families, who are predominantly fisher folk, refused resettle in Vasanthapuram because the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has clamped restrictions on fishing in the area.

They say that the restrictions hampers their livelihood and hence they will not have any means to live there when they resettle.

Meanwhile restrictions placed on early morning fishing in the Jaffna lagoon near Gurunagar in the Jaffna town have been lifted by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) from Monday February 9, said Jaffna sources. Fishing is now permitted from 5 a.m.