IDPs from the islets of Jaffna allowed to resettle

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 August 2009, 06:20 GMT]
The Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Veala’nai, Allaippiddi and Ma’nkumpaan in the islets of Jaffna displaced due to Sri Lanka Army (SLA) offensives in 2006 and presently staying in Jaffna town had to wait for a long time at Duraippah Stadium Thursday as Basil Rajapakse, Senior Advisor to the President, failed to turn up as scheduled to participate in the event of resettling the IDPs in their own villages, sources in Jaffna said. Local government officials later sent the IDPs to their villages in buses.

Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) authorities who did not consent for resettlement in the coastal of areas of Allaippiddi gave in as all the IDPs refused to go their places if some of them were not allowed to get back to their villages.

Meanwhile, another batch of Vanni IDPs held in Jaffna camps were released Thursday to join their relatives.

A batch had been released before Jaffna Municipal Council election.

A group of Saiva priests and their families who had been released from Vavuniyaa detainment camps were expected to arrive in Jaffna Thursday night.

Saiva organizations in Jaffna made arrangement for the released persons to stay the night in Jaffna Kurukulam and to send them to their own places.