Sri Lankan priest raises resettlement concerns

(June 10, 2010) A Church official in northern Sri Lanka has met with the region’s military governor to raise resettlement concerns. “Resettled people find it difficult to restart their normal life,” Father Arulanandam Johnaly Yavis said while speaking with Major General G.A Chandrasiri at military headquarters in Kilinochchi. The priest who is the president of the Jaffna Diocesan Priests Union and head of Caritas Human Development Centre in Kilinochchi, the social arm of the Catholic Church in Jaffna said that Farming activities are disturbed since wells and irrigation canals have fallen into disrepair. Most people have lost their belongings including farming accessories, he pointed out. In his response, Chandrasiri told Father Yavis that the resettlement process is in the final stage. He added that a special plan is in place to educate the children and develop the area. About 200,000 have already been resettled, he said, while another 70,000 will be resettled “within the next two months.” Fr Yavis also told UCA News that efforts are being made by the state to withdraw from public places, schools and places of worship but some schools are still occupied by the military. He acknowledged that St. Mary’s Church in Mulangavil and St. Jude’s Church in Selvapuram, two former battle areas have been renovated with government funds. But many priests are still staying in temporary sheds, he added.