| More than 5,000 war displaced people still live in 41 camps in Jaffna despite claims by the previous government that there were no refugees, says the National Fisheries Solidarity Movement. |
| Thirty five of these camps have been in operation since 1990, said convener of the Movement Herman Kumara. All these camps shelter 5,863 persons belonging to 1,536 families, including 351 women-led families, he told a seminar in Colombo yesterday (07). These displaced people say they have been living as war refugees in an insecure atmosphere for around 25 years now without any link with the outside world. These camps are without adequate drinking water and sanitation facilities. They want to be resettled in their own villages - with minimum facilities such as schools, religious places and hospitals, provided - still occupied by the military six years after the war. Human rights activist Nimalka Fernando said the president and the prime minister should now fulfill their promises to the war displaced, or else the people should take to the streets in protest. The new government should be given time for that, she stressed. LANKA SIRI News |
5,863 Refugees are still residing at 41 camps in Jaffna
