Vanni IDPs loose hope of resettlement in Vanni

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 November 2009, 03:54 GMT]
As immediate resettlement in their own villages in Vanni appears to be a remote possibility, Vanni Internally displaced Persons (IDPs) who are not originally from Jaffna district show interest in being brought to Jaffna, sources in Jaffna said. The government too, reluctant to commence immediate resettlement in Vanni, is actively encouraging Vanni IDPs to be sent to Jaffna with the aim of reducing the number of IDP camps in Jaffna, the sources added.

The number of IDPs brought to Jaffna from the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) internment camps in Vavuniyaa to Jaffna through A9 road has now exceeded 50,000.

3,627 persons of 1,109 families were brought to Jaffna Tuesday night and around 5,000 to 10,000 IDPs are to be brought from Vavuniyaa in the next few days, Jaffna Secretariat sources said.

Altogether 50,669 persons of 15,055 families have been brought to Jaffna until Tuesday.

There are many of Vanni origin among the IDPs brought to Jaffna and these persons have been allowed to come to Jaffna on the basis of consent letters from their relatives taking responsibility of looking after them.