UN welcomes closure of Menik Farm welfare centre
The United Nations yesterday welcomed the closure of Menik Farm,
the last welfare centre for Internally Displaced Persons (IDP)s.
"This is a milestone event towards ending a chapter of
displacement in Sri Lanka some three years after the civil war which ended in
May 2009. But there are still some people who are unable to return to their
homes and a solution urgently needs to be found," the United Nations (UN)
Humanitarian Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Subinay Nandy said in a statement.
According to the Competent Authority for IDPs in the Northern
region, 1,186 people belonged to 361 families left the Manik Farm IDP camp in
Vavuniya yesterday. The UN however said that it is concerned about 346 people
(110 families) who are returning from Menik Farm to Kepapilavu in Mullaitivu
District, who are unable to return to their homes which are occupied by the
military.
"The closure of the camp is a significant sign of the transition
from conflict to sustainable peace and the commitment of the Government to
resettling tens of thousands of people back to their homes," the humanitarian
coordinator said.
"But there are still many people living with friends and
relatives particularly in Jaffna and Vavuniya, or living in welfare centers.
Some of these people have been displaced for years and they also need a lasting
solution," he said.
Courtesy : President Media Unit
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