UN visits Sri Lanka's camps

2009-09-25 20:05

Colombo - A top UN human rights expert on Friday visited government-run camps in northern Sri Lanka where refugees displaced by the fighting between government troops and Tamil rebels are being held.

Walter Kaelin, the UN secretary general's representative for the human rights of internally displaced persons, toured camps in Vavuniya and Mannar districts where more than 250 000 displaced live.

Sri Lanka's government declared victory over the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May, ending a 26-year-long civil war.

Resettlement arrangements

Kaelin is the second top UN official to visit the camps in as many weeks. Last week, UN Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe met with Sri Lankan government officials, pressing for speedy resettlement of the camp inmates.

Kaelin is also expected to discuss resettlement arrangements with government officials before leaving Sri Lanka on Saturday.

The government is rejecting mounting criticism over delays, saying it needs time to clear the areas in the former battle zone from mines All displaced will be able to return to their homes by the end of January, President Mahina Rajapaksa said.

Sri Lanka's opposition maintains that some areas are ready for the return of displaced residents.

Accusations

The government has been accused of holding the displaced against their will and not allowing them to move freely in other areas in the southern part of the country.

Human rights organisations criticised the camps as being a kind of collective punishment for the ethnic Tamil population and warned that the upcoming monsoon rains are likely to exacerbate the already dire conditions.

The security forces said that screening in the camps for former rebels, who they claim are hiding among the civilians, continues.

Government troops and the LTTE were engaged in pitched battles in the final phase of the offensive which lasted three years. Eventually the rebel leadership was killed on May 18, ending a civil war that claimed over 100 000 lives.

- SAPA