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Thursday, February 19, 2009 - 10.31 GMT |
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Let trapped civilians move freely – UN
Under- Secretary to LTTE |
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We want to see the population in LTTE held
area able to leave the area freely, as they
should be able to, and I call, upon the LTTE
to enable them to move freely, which is part
of humanitarian law, said Sir John Holmes,
the United Nations Under-Secretary General
speaking to the media today (Thursday 29).
The UN Under-Secretary General for
Humanitarian Affairs will visit Vavuniya,
tomorrow (Friday 20) to see at first hand
the arrangements on the ground for the Tamil
people who have been able to flee the LTTE
held area and come over the government area.
His visit to Vavuniya is enabled at the
invitation of the Foreign Minister Rohitha
Bogollagama, in keeping with President
Rajapaksa’s invitation to the UN Secretary
General to send a person who is
knowledgeable about conditions in Sri Lanka
to make an assessment of actual conditions
with regard to IDPs in the North.
The Foreign Minister told the Media today
that he had invited Sir John to visit
Vavuniya, meet with the representatives of
Line Ministries and other agencies there, so
that he could get a first hand impression of
the assistance that is currently being
provided by government and further
assistance that may be needed to meet the
needs of the surge of the civilian
population fleeing the captive area of the
LTTE.
Sir John thanked the President and Foreign
Minister for inviting him, and the chance to
visit Vavuniya and see for himself the
conditions on the ground for those who have
come from the conflict zone.
He was here because of the great concern in
the UN and among those in the international
community in general, for the fate of the
civilian population who are now trapped in a
pocket of land, as the military operations
proceed.
Sir John said their concern was is the fate
of the population. “We are concerted about
the reports of heavy casualties among the
population, the injuries…I have called on
the government and on the LTTE to do
everything possible to avoid such casualties
and do everything possible make sure that
international humanitarian laws are full
observed, Sir John said.
Foreign Minister Bogollagama said the
government wished to address the issues
regarding civilians on a joint basis. “We
are trying to do our best on our own, and it
will be better to do such work jointly.”
He reiterated the President’s call to the
LTTE to lay down arms and surrender, and
said the government was looking at a
political process whereby the polity of the
Tamil people can be engaged and brought on
board for a lasting solution and a
sustainable peace. The Government was also
keen to carry out much needed development
work in the North, he said.
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