http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/10/10/fea03.asp

New lease of life for once-displaced

Shanika Sriyananda

Menik Farm in Vavuniya is no more. Even after the last batch of 1,185 families leaving the once ‘famous’ welfare centre set up on a 700 acre extent of land to shelter over 290,000 people displaced in the final battle against LTTE terrorists, it is again in the news as it was reported that some displaced people don’t want to leave Menik Farm.

It is an achievement by the government to resettle all the displaced people in the North within a period of three years. This would not have been achieved by any other country that faced a similar agony, but the achievement was marred by the news of a forced resettlement of people of Keppapilavu ‘against their wishes’.

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This was highlighted and sent to international organizations in writing by the ex-Tamil National Alliance Parliamentarian Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam.

“When the villagers had strongly resisted to being settled in any place other than Keppapulavu, the military had ordered that the lorries containing all the belongings be driven to the new site and unloaded. As the lorries contained all the belongings these villagers owned, they feared that if they didn’t follow the lorries to the new site, their belongings would be lost for good, hence they reluctantly moved to the new settlement in Seeniamoddai East”, he wrote in his letter requesting the international community to intervene to prevent resettling them against their wishes.

Original lands

When contacted, the Government Agent of Mullaitivu District, Nagalingam Vedanayagam, said there was no forced resettlement and reiterated that they could not be given land in their original place as it was released to re-locate a state institution.

“The new location is very much closer to their original lands and it is in close proximity of the Nanthikandal lagoon, where they engaged in inland fisheries”, he said, adding there will not be further shifting of these families.

He said they will be permanently resettled in the new location and with the help of the military the government will soon take steps to build houses for them, he said.

As the last batch of displaced persons numbering 1,185 leave the camp, it marked the closure of world’s largest centre for displaced persons last Monday.

Of the total displaced people, 110 families who are the original inhabitants of Keppapilavu are given land in an alternative location called Seeniyamottai in Mullaitivu.

The UN issuing a statement welcomed the government decision to close down the Menik Farm. “The government is looking for solutions but it is important that the displaced people should be able to make an informed and voluntary decision about their future, including being part of the planning and management of their resettlement,” Subinay Nandy, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Sri Lanka said in his statement.

Infrastructure facilities

However, he expressed the UN’s concern about 110 families who are returning from Menik Farm to Keppapulavu in the Mullaitivu District, who are unable to return to their homes.

“Instead, they are being relocated in state land where they await formal confirmation about what is happening to their land in the future, and plans for compensation if they cannot return,” he stressed.

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Dispelling allegations by politically-motivated groups, Security Forces Headquarters Commander, Mullaitivu, Maj. Gen. L.B.R. Mark told the Daily News that those people were settled in an extent of land over 500 acres and lived in huts but they were given land in the same location according to their choice.

“They are given not 10 perches of land but 40 perches of land for each and solidly build houses are coming up for them soon. The government has decided to build houses for them with all other infrastructure facilities”, he said.

Maj. Gen. Mark said some families were given one to two acres of land to continue their agricultural activities and the new location was in close proximity of the Nanthikandal lagoon, where they could continue inland fishing, which has a good market.

He said they would be given alternative land, compensation for the previous land according to government valuation and also well constructed new houses. “Compared to the people of the South whose land was acquired by the government for development projects who get only the compensation, these people are lucky as they get a good deal for their lands”, he said.

Political survival

Maj. Gen. Mark said the TNA was trying to destabilize peace in the district by organizing protest campaigns with the help of some of the politicians of the South but people of Mullaitivu who had suffered for decades would not join them.

“There were chains of protest by the TNA and some other political party members and they invited people to join the protests. Since there was no support for them, they finally brought two dozens of their supporters from Jaffna and another two dozens from Vavuniya. They wanted to protest prior to President’s visit to Mullaitivu”, he said.

The SF Commander Mullaitivu said though they claimed people were resettled in jungle areas, in one year's time they would see development and then they will have to find some other claim for their political survival.