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“LTTE and TRO deserves commendation for the coordinated effort”

Messrs R.Sampanthan and Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam represented the Tamil National Alliance in this meeting.

In a press release after the meeting the TNA said that the meeting was very useful and they were able to get the message across to the Secretary General and he was very keen to know the ground realities.

Excerpts from the press release:

The tidal wave struck the Tamil people at a time they were almost on the fringe of frustration due to peace dividend, normalcy becoming unattainable even after three years of cease-fire and six rounds of peace talks. The little they were able to gather through resilience, has also been snatched away by Mother Nature.

Tamil habitats destroyed during the two decades of war, have not been rehabilitated for resettlement even after three years of cease-fire. Many parts still continue to be occupied by the military denying access to owners of homesteads for resettlement. This is in violation of the cease-fire agreement. It is only the lack of an effective mechanism that would address the needs of the people that retards the pace of rehabilitation and resettlement. The Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals submitted to the government were formulated with this in mind.

The international aid that is flowing into the country is not equitably distributed among the regions. Most of the aid is diverted to the south. In spite of our bringing to the attention of the government that the devastation in the NorthEast coast is extensive and deserves priority in the context of the suffering people there had to undergo during the war days, there appears to be no serious attempt on the part of the authorities to ensure equitable distribution. It is unfortunate that the UN Secretary General was not provided with the opportunity to visit those areas. Such a visit would have convinced the UN Head of the extent of devastation and the necessity to draw international attention to these areas. Ignoring political boundaries, the international community should come forward to help the affected people in the Tamil region rebuild their homesteads”.

10 January 2005

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