Over 95 percent of IDPs resettled - Defence Secretary

http://www.dailynews.lk/2010/12/14/news02.asp

Over 95 percent of IDPs resettled - Defence Secretary

Seventy percent demining done by Army:
Chamikara Weerasinghe
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa yesterday said over 95 percent of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have been resettled. He said the Security Forces have been instrumental in the process of reconciliation and resettlement process after the war. He also said most of the land mines have been removed in areas in the North.
Seventy per cent of the demining was done by the Army. Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was speaking at a felicitation ceremony held at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute in honour of Jaffna Security Forces Commander Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe.
Major General Hathurusinghe was awarded with the international Gusi Peace Prize for peace and respect for human life and dignity.
The ceremony was organized by a committee of people representing the North and South.
The process of demining has been further accelerated in the North, he said.
”We have a good international record in terms of reconciliation, reconstruction and rehabilitation after the war,” he said.
We have recovered in the shortest possible time with the commitment of the security forces to bring permanent peace to the country, he added.
Among the present on this occasion were Malwathu Chapter Anu Nayaka Niyangoda Wijithasiri Thera, Rajamaha Viharadhikari Prof Bellanwila Wimalarathana Thera, Ven Kotugoda Dhammavasa Thera, Ven Ellawala Medhananda Thera, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, Plantations Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, Small Enterprise Minister Douglas Devananda and Army Commander Jagath Jayasuriya.
The Gusi Peace Award Laureate Jaffna Security Forces Commander Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe said here that the the disposition of Sri Lanka being awarded with the Gusi Prize for peace and respect for human life dignity provides a fine example for those international elements that try to discredit the country with various war human rights issues.
The Gusi Peace Prize is one of the highest honours bestowed on distinguished individuals who work towards attaining peace and respect for human life and dignity.
The prize is said to be the Asian equivalent to the Nobel Prize.