Situation in Jaffna

Taken from HIC Sri Lanka situation report

JAFFNA DISTRICT
Situation update
• The security situation in Jaffna remains tense with audible and sporadic outgoing daily shelling. On 28 Jan, there was an escalation with heavy exchanges
at the FDL, resulting in the cancellation of all civilian flights. The situation has since returned to occasional outgoing shelling. The airport at Palali is open.
Displacement/Returns
• A new small scale displacement took place in Chavakachcheri DS Division following the intensification of shelling/artillery in the vicinity of the FDL on 21
Jan. However, most of the displaced population has since returned to their places of origin as the situation calmed.
• The Jaffna GA is planning to facilitate a return of 19 IDP families to Allaipidi, Velanai DS Division (Kayts Island). Agencies have expressed some concerns
about the current security situation on the island, but authorities have reiterated their intention to organize this return in accordance with the Guiding
Principles on Internal Displacement.
• UNHCR continues to monitor IDPs living at Temporary Accommodation Centres. 11 TACs remain functional – five in Karaveddy, three in Chavakachcheri,
and three in Jaffna.

Misconstructions of our vital work hampers aid effectiveness and endangers our workers

A study has been carried out by the Feinstein International Centre which looks at the issues of universality, terrorism, coherence and security in relation to the humanitarian enterprise in Sri Lanka. The centre publicises its research on the politics and policy of aiding the vulnerable carried out by humanitarian workers across the globe. It has indicated that there is a worrying negative perception of our kind of work being regarded as a ‘self serving enterprise’ (Humanitarian Agenda 2015). The tsunami experience of money flooding in but no one really seeing where it was going was the foundation to this perception. Now with the ongoing conflict, there is widespread suspicion that agencies are using humanitarian action to pursue other agendas, especially pro- LTTE leanings. We have to be very clear about our mandates and communicate them in order that local political interests don’t misconstruct our work. At this crucial time we need the support of our government, our people and the international community to carry out the vital work of emergency response and rehabilitation. The study concluded that the negative construction of our work has hampered the delivery and effectiveness of assistance. It has also endangered the lives of aid workers. It states that ‘humanitarian engagement in Sri Lanka is likely to become increasingly dangerous and difficult unless international actors become more aware about how they are being politically manipulated and can better communicate their mission so as to counter this negative view constructed in order to further local interests’. Let us be aware and unite to work meaningfully and safely to serve our people.
(for full report please see http://fic.tufts.edu/?pid=10)

Sri Lanka: 187,500 Internally Displaced Persons

Updated figures of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Sri Lanka as of 31 December 2007 of those IDP movements after 7 April 2006, has been established to be 187,850 persons. Of this number, 31,843 still remain in welfare centres or temporary accommodation centres, while 156,007 are said to live with friends and relatives. However, numbers given for Killinochchi, Mullativu and the Southern part of Jaffna cannot be verified.

This data is contained in a compilation published on 17 January 2008 by the Ministry of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services, the Ministry of Nation Building and Development and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

The table below lists the figures on a District wise basis:

District	IDPs in Welfare Centres and Temporary Accommodation Centres	IDPs with Friends and Relatives	Total
Jaffna	857	30,180	31,037
Kilinochchi	3,737	44,810	48,547
Mullativu	923	31,173	32,096
Mannar	9,660	13,884	23,544
Vavuniya	281	10,362	10,643
Trincomalee	3,753	2,218	5,971
Batticaloa	10,041	16,471	26,512
Ampara	87	5,608	5,695
Puttalam	2,371	551	2,922
Anuradhapura	-	486	486
Polonnaruwa	133	47	180
Gampaha	-	213	213
Kegalle	-	4	4
Grand Total	31,843	156,007	187,850

The government is committed to settling back all IDPs in their original homes. In the Eastern Province alone, over 108,000 IDPs have already returned to their homes since March 2007, and only 38,178 persons are living in welfare centres or temporary accommodation or with friends and relatives. Most of them have been held back due to the need for the clearance of landmines.

The settlement of IDPs back in their homes has been a voluntary process and it has been undertaken according to international standards. This has been acknowledged by the international community including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme(WFP).

- Asian Tribune -

Italy to help rebuild disaster prone areas

The Italian Government will provide a Rs. 750 million Aid package to Sri Lanka to rebuild and develop areas which have been prone to natural and man-made disasters and to improve technical efficiency of the disaster management process.

The Italians have agreed to help Sri Lanka in their disaster management efforts. This is after the recent visit of Minister for Disaster Management and Human Rights, Mahinda Samarasinghe.

Accordingly an agreement was signed by Sri Lanka with the Civil Defence Organisation of Italy, in the presence of President Giorgio Napolitano.

Under the agreement this organisation has agreed to furnish Rs.450 million for development projects initiated by Disaster Management Centre and Rs.300 million as technical aid. Ministry sources said the money would be utilised for development as well as technical aid programmes for officials in sectors such as disaster management, meteorology, nation building and research, irrigation, coastal development and geological survey and mines sector.

According to these sources the said Rs. 450 million had been granted on a special request by the Minister to start flood control projects for flood-prone areas such as Batticaloa, Ampara, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Dambulla. Minister Samarasinghe on his visit had also taken steps to brief the Italian President, Foreign Minister and the Minister of Internal Affairs regarding the situation in Sri Lanka.

The Minister held extensive discussions regarding the CFA abbrogation and Human Rights situation in view of eliminating misconceptions. (Daily News)

World Social Forum of Sri Lanka 2008

World Social Forum of Sri Lanka 2008

An incredibly uplifting forum was held on Saturday 26^th January in Vihara Mahadevi Park, Colombo, coinciding with other actions and mobilisations around the world. The central theme was that ‘Another world is possible!’ It was open to anyone as a free space for reflexive thinking, democratic debate of ideas, formulation of proposals, free exchange of experiences and an interlinking for effective action (WSF 2008 Programme). Many groups and movements came together, including the Green Movement to unite on three fronts:

Ø to affirm our opposition to the war that has torn apart our country for almost 25 years, militarising society and traumatising communities

Ø to affirm our opposition to the economic policies that burden our people raising the price of essential goods to unaffordable levels, destroying livelihoods and impoverishing the poor

Ø to resist capitalist globalisation and the development model that imposes on our country bringing enormous costs to the environment and the poor and benefits only a tiny minority (WSF 2008 Programme).

Many organisations gathered to share information and had creative workshops spreading awareness. There were so many themes, such as women and peace, the housing crisis, the rising cost of living, protecting livelihoods, the conflict, environmental costs of development and peacebuilding. The media unit of the Green Movement set up a tent where 9 short films and videos were screened. These videos touched upon crucial issues such as the oil crisis, global warming, energy efficiency and work that our organisation has been involved with. We had a very tangible presence, with huge banners created by our talented photographers capturing scenes of Sri Lanka strung out across a massive banyan tree and the stadium. Our green brigade volunteers were there, cycling through the stadium, park and main road with flags and banners with powerful messages. We also had the pleasure of a group of veddha’s with whom we work, who joined us for the day, playing music and doing a cultural performance outside the tent. It was a very successful day that created much positive feedback on the work we are doing and the work we will continue to do with likeminded people.

How to prioritise Global Warming amongst a myriad of other critical issues in Sri Lanka?

There has been so much focus and reports written, meetings held and world conferences to address the threats that are coming with global warming. It is clear that the world is changing drastically and measures need to be taken now, but how on earth do global citizens address this massive challenge in reality? How can Sri Lanka begin to tackle this when all our resources are going into the war? We are already facing unpredictable weather and the destabilisation of our natural resources upon which people rely on for their livelihoods and very existence. We are seeing the loss of lands and homes due to an increase in destructive natural phenomena, widespread loss of livelihoods and a general deterioration of health and increased disease. It is very saddening to know that most of this deterioration in our beautiful environment has been forced upon us by inappropriate development ideals and pressures to become more like the west. And so the high rise buildings, air con super centres, mega hydro electric schemes and coal power parks keep growing. There is mass deforestation replaced with completely unsuitable reforestation programmes using resource hungry plant varieties which leach the land. The list is endless. How to we tackle this? The buzzwords circling the big meetings in big hotels are all about diversification, mitigation and adaptation but what is it that people themselves feel they can do? What can they do when they have so many other priorities on a daily basis? Bring the veddha’s to the table, the fisherfolk, the farmers and paddy cultivators and see what they have to say. It can be tackled, we have the resources and the awareness to move things along, but it is almost like a change of mindset that is required, to make people stop and think about the consequences of all the actions. We at the Green Movement believe that this change of mindset can happen in Sri Lanka, and that we must try to live in accordance with the middle path in a peaceful and mindful way, to change our materialistic and unsustainable life patterns. Of course this is certainly not the only way but it is a good foundation upon which to work on.

DMIP activities this week

The Green Movement have been involved with the rehabilitation of families in the Newara Eliya district affected by last January’s landslide. People of Hanguranketha and Walapane have been living in temporary shelters with basic amenities and in cramped conditions for over a year now. The DS deemed the land where they lived unsafe and promised to find suitable lands for them to be resettled. They found new land for 192 families from Hanguranketha, as of 31^st December, and most families have started to move. One member of our staff went to assess their progress as well as to investigate the new site. What he found was not encouraging. It is simply a piece of land, with demarcated plots that will not suffice for all their agricultural and farming needs, let alone for them to live easily in. There are no facilities in place and people have had to clear the land themselves and take what materials they have from the camp to the new site. Being a strong lobbying and campaigning organisation, the GMSL plan to challenge the government to find alternative lands, as it seems this one is even more unsafe than where they originated from. There is no point in settling people in a place that puts people at even more risk from landslides than before. We ask that the newly resettled retired soldiers nearby could perhaps swap with the families, as the soldiers have ample land that they will not even use. As well as their right to safe lands of course, they require their basic needs to be met, and the GMSL are there with a suitable WATSAN project to be delivered.