Sri Lanka first in the world to resettle war displaced so soon, says Economic Development Minister

Sri Lanka first in the world to resettle war displaced so soon, says Economic Development MinisterWed, Jun 9, 2010, 08:24 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Jun 09, Colombo: Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa told parliament today (9) that the Sri Lankan government is the first in the world to have resettled the war displaced within a very short period.
Minister Rajapaksa who is heading the task force for Northern development, also noted that the Sri Lanka government's resettlement programme has been commended even by the United Nations. The government's re-settlement programme in the East was even commended by the UN, Rajapaksa said.
The Minister said this in response to a statement made by Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary group leader R. Sampanthan this morning on the plight of the displaced civilians in the North in the parliament.
He said the government was proud that the TNA MPs could visit the North freely today.
All civilians in the North were displaced after the operation to liberate the country from terrorism. The government considered the resettlement of these civilians as a top priority, the Minister said.
He added that the many areas in the North had to be cleared of landmines, which is a hard and time consuming task.
Rajapaksa further noted that even if the government had cleared these areas fully, it cannot resettle people as it wishes. The UN organization has to declare these areas suitable for resettlement.
The government has to build roads, supply electricity, water and restore local government bodies and health facilities before resettling the people, he pointed out.
There are 80,000 displaced civilians still remaining in the welfare camps in Vavuniya. The government plans to complete the resettlement by August of this year.