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Leading News from Sri Lanka ::
Sept 29, Colombo: Further holding of the 280,000 civilians displaced by the war in welfare camps in the Northern Sri Lanka could result in growing bitterness, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned Monday.
During the talks with Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Rathnasiri Wickramanayaka at the UN Headquarters in New York, the UN chief stressed that failure to resettle the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who are now housed in the welfare camps under harsh conditions may escalate resentment as witnessed by the recent skirmish between the IDPs and sentries guarding the camps.
The incident between IDPs and the army in Menik Farm two days ago resulting in gunshot injuries of two children was a sign of growing frustrations in the camps, he said.
Sri Lanka's military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said the Sunday's incident was resulted when a group of IDPs disregarded the instructions and tried to move out of one camp to another. The troops were forced to fire in the air when the crowd became violent and threw stones at them, he said.
Sri Lanka Prime Minister has assured the UN chief that President Mahinda Rajapaksa's government is committed to resettle all the IDPs by January while pointing out that international aid is needed to facilitate these efforts, especially for de-mining.
The UN chief has underlined the importance of winning the trust and confidence of the population in the North, especially those in the IDP camps, as failure to do so could undermine the prospects for reconciliation.
The Premier has informed the Secretary-General that the government is taking every effort to find a political solution to the conflict including the discussions with the representatives of minority Tamil political parties such as Tamil National Alliance.
Wickramanayaka in his address to the UN General Assembly on Saturday (26) said the government is looking forward to obtain consensus among all political parties on the proposals put forward by the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) but insisted that the solution must be a home-grown product.
The Secretary-General has reiterated his request for the Sri Lankan government to conduct an independent and impartial accountability process to look into alleged violation of international law during the conflict as a critical part of moving forward and building peace in Sri Lanka.
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