Sri Lanka Bishops ask president to resettle war refugees

(May 13, 2009) President Mahinda Rajapakse has assured Catholic bishops and Caritas officials that displaced Tamil war refugees currently residing in camps in the north, will be released in batches to return to their homes. The May 11 meeting in the presidential palace was attended by Archbishop Oswald Gomis of Colombo, together with Bishops Kingsley Swampillai of Trincomalee-Batticaloa, Valence Mendis of Chilaw, Cletus Chandrasiri Perera of Ratnapura and Harold Anthony Perera, chairman of the bishops' commission for justice, peace and human development. Father Damian Fernando, national director of Caritas Sri Lanka, as well a group of Christian parliamentarians also attended the meeting. The delegation explained to the president the plight of the displaced people in camps and the condition of the camps. There are now about 200,000 refugees confined in them.
President Rajapakse said he appreciated the work of Caritas, the Catholic Church's social service agency, and assured bishops that resettlement would take place once areas are cleared of land mines. He told the delegation that 210 families had recently been resettled in the eastern coast of Mannar and that the process will continue in other areas soon.
United Nations officials today voiced their distress at the impact on children of the ongoing conflict in northern Sri Lanka, urging both the Government and Tamil rebels to ensure the protection of the most vulnerable. Thousands of civilians, including many children, have been killed or injured in the fighting since the beginning of the year, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) noted in a news release. UNICEF’s Regional Director for South Asia, Daniel Toole, said that with an estimated 50,000 civilians trapped in the conflict zone – a tiny space of just a few square kilometres – the agency fears that many more children will be killed if the current Government offensive continues and if the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) refuses to allow civilians to leave. “This latest surge in fighting is a catastrophe for children and shows a complete disregard for these most vulnerable of civilians,” said Mr. Toole. UNICEF reiterated its appeal to the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE to allow civilians to leave the conflict zone and to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law.The World Food Programme (is providing food assistance to more than 190,000 people in temporary transit centres in Vavuniya and Jaffa districts.