(Aug.19,2009): Heavy rains in northern Sri Lanka continue to cause suffering at the
vast government-run camps, where internally displaced people are held, reports say.
Heavy and sudden showers since Friday have caused havoc at the main complex of refugee
camps at Manik Farm, home to some 230,000 people. The UN humanitarian affairs office
says one zone is totally under water. In another zone, 95 toilets are submerged, water
is contaminated with sewage and soakage pits have collapsed. The Sri Lankan government
is limiting access to the camps by aid agencies, journalists and other outsiders.
The UN says it has no information on the situation in one of the zones, and there
are varying accounts of the overall picture. The UN says that because of the bad
weather, the authorities are now trying to speed up the resettlement of the refugees
to their home districts. So far this process has been going slowly, with the government
insisting it has to screen all refugees for possible links to the Tamil Tiger (LTTE)
rebels. Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was quoted on Monday as saying that
"LTTE terrorists masquerading as civilians" could resume attacks if released from
the camps.But opposition leader Ranil Wickramasinghe said the conditions in the camps
were worsening - and so too was Sri Lanka's reputation as a result.