The Hindu : Front Page : 58,000 IDPs will be sent back home in 15 days: Sri Lanka

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Thursday, Oct 15, 2009
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58,000 IDPs will be sent back home in 15 days: Sri Lanka

T. Ramakrishnan

Colombo’s decision in response to MPs’ request: Karunanidhi

— Photo: M. Vedhan

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi addresses the media in Chennai on Wednesday. With him are the MPs from Tamil Nadu who just returned from a visit to Sri Lanka.

CHENNAI: The Sri Lankan government has assured a 10-member delegation of MPs from Tamil Nadu that 58,000 internally-displaced Sri Lankan Tamils in camps will be sent back to their native places in 15 days.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, who received the delegation at the Chennai airport on Wednesday evening, announced this at a press conference later at his party headquarters. The remaining Tamils would return gradually. Totally, there were about 2.5 lakh people in the camps, Mr. Karunanidhi said adding the move of the Sri Lankan government was in response to the request made by the team that the internally-displaced Tamils be sent to their homes before the advent of rains.

Mr. Karunanidhi said the team had furnished elaborate information to Colombo on attacks by the Sri Lankan Navy on Tamil Nadu fishermen. Colombo agreed to ensure that the incidents would not recur. For this purpose, it sought help from the Indian government.

He explained that his government had pointed out to the Union government that the Centre’s quick response to Sri Lanka’s request for help in demining operations would remove the Tamils’ misery. To queries whether resettlement of the internally-displaced Tamils was delayed citing demining operations, the Chief Minister said he was sharing with the media information furnished by the team. He counselled patience.

To a question whether Sinhalese would be settled in areas where Tamils lived traditionally, the Chief Minister said President Mahinda Rajapaksa had denied that such a thing would happen.

Asked for his reaction to All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Jayalalithaa’s criticism of the team’s visit, Mr. Karunanidhi’s answer: “Let us wait and see whether any purpose would be served or not.” On the condition of amenities in the camps, he said there were some shortcomings.

In a statement, the Chief Minister said efforts were being made for the welfare of Tamils and cited Mr. Rajapaksa’s assurance to the MPs that a settlement, acceptable to all sections, would be found.

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