70% of relocated Vanni IDPs in Jaffna not allowed to reside in their homes

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 January 2010, 17:54 GMT]
Sri Lanka Armed Forces in Jaffna district have not permitted the Vanni IDPs brought to Jaffna district in the name of resettlement to live in their own houses, Jaffna NGO sources said. Particularly the IDPs in the islets in Jaffna are forced by Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) to stay in makeshift shelters located in private lands near their camps, the sources said.

The IDPs staying in the camps and shelters are facing so many hardships due to lack of basic facilities and assistance.

Neither the government officials nor the welfare organizations do not take any steps to help these suffering IDPs, the sources further said.

SLN which controls the entire islets of Jaffna does not allow any information about the plight of the IDPs out and the media in Jaffna peninsula is effectively kept in the dark.

Particularly in Ma’ndaitheevu SLN occupies all the houses in Ward 3 and 5 of the residents who were evicted when High Security Zones were established.

The same situation prevails among the IDPs settled in Vadamaraadchi and Thenmaraadchi and many of them are sheltered in camps or have sought refuge with their relatives or friends, the sources said.