Riding high on post-war development

By Uditha Jayasinghe

Riding high on three years of peace, the Government yesterday noted that it would complete resettlement of the final group of 5,000 Internally Displaced People (IDPs) by the middle of this month.

The last group of 5,424 IDPs will be resettled by the middle of August 2012, according to Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Addressing an international conference on defence matters titled ‘Towards Lasting Peace and Stability’ organised by the Sri Lankan Army, Rajapaksa recalled that at the end of 2009 there were over 300,000 displaced people in the country.

 “Only three years after the war the Government has successfully resettled 237,672 IDPs. A further 28,398 have chosen to live with host families while 7,185 had left welfare camps and did not return. An additional 802 IDPs died of natural causes while in the camps,” he said.

He remarked that the last group of IDPs was from areas that had the highest concentration of land mines, which had taken longer to clear.

“It is hoped that demining will be completed in the near future. As at end June this year 469,275 anti-personnel mines, 1,399 anti-tank mines and 388,963 unexploded ordinances have been recovered,” he added.

Moving on to discussing security, he disclosed that Government data showed over 51,400 foreigners visited the Northern Province of the country in the last three years.  Rajapaksa noted numbers had grown in the last two years and that they expected more visitors to the region later this year.

“More than 51,400 foreigners from over a 100 countries have visited the north including nearly 31,500 this year alone. A considerable number were expatriates who returned to visit their relatives and see to their land. This is a testimony to the freedom that exists in this country.”

Rajapaksa insisted that the growth in visitors was due to increased security, stressing that the military presence has been reduced since 2009, with 28 battalions being removed to the southern part of the country.

“Around 21,000 troops have also been moved out of the region since 2009,” he emphasised, adding that the military would continue to occupy the north for “strategic reasons”. He also did not disclose the number of personnel currently stationed in the province.

Speaking on rehabilitation and reintegration, Rajapaksa mentioned that in total over 10,000 former Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam (LTTE) fighters had been released, with around 600 still in detention centres around the country.   

“A large number of these reintegrated former cadres will be recruited to the Civil Defence Force to engage in development work in their region eventually. In all 10,965 have been released and only 636 remain in four centres. A further 383 have been detained for further investigation.”

Rajapaksa refuted allegations that those under investigation have been held for an extended period of time despite detainees staging protests over the last few months to fast track their cases.

“This approach was extremely generous as the Government did not choose to prosecute them. Reconciliation is the only aspect that critics can point at and even this is unfounded. Over the past three years a great deal has been done to empower all sections of society,” he added.

Rajapaksa was warm in his praise of the military, pointing out that they had acted in a way to win the hearts of the civilians as well as assisted in the reconstruction, rehabilitation and reintegration phase of the post-war environment.

“The fact remains that the military was essential in facilitating the reconstruction activities. Eleven new police stations have been established and 789 Tamil Policemen have been posted to these places. The Army has built over 6,000 houses and renovated nearly 7,000 permanent or semi-permanent homes for resettled people. The role played by the military has helped our forces win civilian hearts. There will be no space for the re-emergence from the problems we had before.”