Satisfied with displaced Sri Lankan Tamils’ rehabilitation : EU

 The European Union (EU) has expressed satisfaction with the resettlement process in Sri Lanka three years after the war between the Sri Lankan military and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ended.  The Sri Lankan government should be commended for the efforts it took to resettle most of the war displaced people, Xinhua quoted the EU ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Bernard Savage, as saying Thursday.

Savage said that all the major camps for the war displaced have now been shut.

He appreciated the efforts taken by the international community to support the Sri Lankan government to send home those affected by 30 years of war.

On Thursday, the EU also announced a new grant package of 16 million euro (about $21 million) to assist the families resettled in the north and east of Sri Lanka.

Savage said that the funds would be used mostly for the families in Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi in the north, two areas which bore the brunt of the war during the final stages.

Sri Lanka came under severe criticism for the conditions of the displacement camps where thousands of people were temporarily sheltered in the north of the country soon after the war ended in May 2009.

The Sri Lankan authorities resettled most of the people but a few still remain in the camps despite an assurance by the government last year that all displacement camps will be shut by January.
INAS