Jaffna IDP Federation to boycott NGO activities

[TamilNet, Saturday, 06 September 2003, 21:17 GMT]
The Valigamam Federation of Internally Displaced Welfare Associations in the Jaffna district Saturday informed the authorities concerned that it would not allow representatives of non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to enter welfare centres where Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) live as NGOs are exploiting the IDPs for NGOs' benefit, civil group sources in Jaffna said.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting held at Chunnakam Friday by the representatives of the IDP federation. At this meeting representatives discussed in detail the action, which is to be taken regarding the resettlement of IDPs in their lands, which come under the high security zones. They discussed the possibility of filing legal action in law courts seeking permission to resettle in the lands whether it come under the HSZ or not, sources said.

The IDPs federation further appealed to the people not to extend co-operation to the NGOs and to boycott their activities, sources said.

It further alleged that the NGOs are obtaining funds from the international community using the name of the IDPs but they are not looking after the welfare of the IDPs now languishing in welfare centres without basic necessities.

The NGOs are only contributing to the false propaganda by the government and its security forces, civil sources said.