Jaffna Islanders extend support to Pongu Thamil

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 June 2003, 10:49 GMT]
Island Peoples' Welfare Association ( IPWA) in Jaffna district Wednesday extended its wholehearted co-operation to the success of Pongu Thamil celebration, which is scheduled to be held on June 27 in Jaffna, sources said.

IPWA said in a press release that time has come for the people of Jaffna peninsula to rise to the occasion to send back government troops from houses belonging to internally displaced families enabling allowing the families to resettle.

The statement further states, "normalcy has not returned in our lives even after a year and a half has passed since the signing of the ceasefire agreement by the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and this has led to the breakdown of the peace talks. Dangerous trend has emerged in the province due to this."

"Internally displaced people are still languishing in refugees camps and welfare centres as they are unable to return to their villages and earn a living because government troops are still occupying civilian homes, agricultural lands, industrial establishments, schools, temples and fisheries landing points in the peninsula," said the statement.

"At this critical time Tamils in the peninsula should rally round under one flag and tell the Sri Lanka Government troops to leave our homes in the district. We should organize ourselves highlight our plight to the international community," said the press release issued by the IPWA, sources said.