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Access to NFZ not feasible: Rajapaksa

— PHOTO: AFP

Firsthand assessment: British Foreign Secretary David Miliband listens to Tamil women at Kadirgamh camp for displaced people in Chettikulam on Wednesday. (Right) French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner visiting the camp.

COLOMBO: French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband called on Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday and exchanged views on the condition of the two lakh civilians sheltered in temporary government camps. They also discussed the fate of civilians stranded in the No-Fire Zone (NFZ).

According to diplomatic sources, Mr. Rajapaksa told the two officials that access to the NFZ was not feasible and that the escape of 1.15 lakh civilians from the NFZ last week showed such a measure was not warranted.

However, the government is believed to have agreed to consider the request of the two Ministers to allow independent observers access to the Omanthai checkpoint where civilians fleeing LTTE-held areas are being screened. It was also pointed out to the two officials that the government had allowed 18 U.N. and international NGOs into the refugee camps.

The officials visited the welfare centres in Vavuniya and the field hospital donated by the French government in Chettikulam. Earlier, they met Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama and held detailed discussions.Mr. Bogollagama thanked the French government for the medical assistance and for the increased financial contribution of €1.6 million for humanitarian agencies working in Sri Lanka. He also thanked the British government for allocating a £2.5 million, in addition to the £5 million already pledged, for humanitarian assistance.

Separately, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said: “So far, we have confirmed that some 1,60,000 people have been displaced by fighting into the government-controlled areas, of which more than 1,40,000 are being accommodated in 32 sites in Vavuniya, another 11,000 in Jaffna and some 5,000 in Trincomalee,” it said.

The UNHCR said it was also fielding more staff to carry out protection monitoring at the sites. It said that the agency has received persistent reports of physical assaults on men and women fleeing into government-controlled areas and reminded the government of its responsibilities towards the civilian population.

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