Sri Lanka has told the EU that military capacity of the LTTE had been destroyed in Sri Lanka their international network, particularly in Europe, remained well intact and unless the EU acts urgently to arrest this trend, the situation could get worse, initially for the hosts.

Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the EU, Ravinatha Aryasinha made this observation when he addressed the cross-party ‘Friends of Sri Lanka’ group of the European Parliament, held on the sidelines of the inaugural session of the newly elected European Parliament in Strasbourg.

He impressed on MEPs the need for the EU and member states to use whatever influence they had on Tamils of Sri Lankan origin, a majority of whom still remained in the category of “refugees”, to support peace in Sri Lanka.

He said the rejection by European voters of those who campaigned on a pro-LTTE platform at the recently concluded European Parliamentary elections, should encourage the EU to “re-calibrate its relationship with Sri Lanka” and “engage in a constructive manner in the post-LTTE context".

The MEPs were briefed on the action being taken by the Sri Lanka Government to meet the needs of the displaced persons in the aftermath of the elimination of the LTTE leadership.

He said it was clear from the many thousands within the welfare villages who had surrendered and others who had been identified as LTTE cadre, that there continued to be a danger of at least some inside being trained LTTE cadres, who could pose a serious security threat and undermine the present peaceful environment. The Government was in the process of separating them from the civilians displaced. The widespread undocumented landmines placed by the LTTE in the areas from which the displaced persons came, also need to be cleared. Additionally basic infrastructure was being put in place in the areas long affected by terrorist action ahead of the return of the displaced civilians.

The Government’s target was to resettle a bulk of them within 180 days and already three batches of the displaced had been re-settled or released to their families, he said.

Responding to questions raised by MEPs about recent adverse news reports on conditions within the welfare villages, the Ambassador acknowledged that the needs were substantial and was stretching the capacities of not only the Government, but also that 4 International organizations, 21 international NGOs and 26 local NGOs working within the welfare villages.

However, he said recent reports such as the one about 1400 deaths in the welfare villages were without basis. He said the total number of deaths over the past month was only 163, an average of 5.6 deaths per day, which according to Sri Lanka’s Secretary/Health Dr. Athula Kahandaliyanage was well below the internationally set upper “sphere guidelines” of 13.2 per day, for a population approximating that at present within the welfare villages.

Ambassador Aryasinha said such motivated reports were an insult to a lot of good people, both local and from abroad, trying to manage a difficult task with admirable resolve and skill and large numbers of Sri Lankans in other parts of the country who were collecting food and other material to be sent for distribution among the displaced persons. He detailed the food and nutritional supplements, water supply, sanitation, education, health, counseling, vocational training, religious and recreational facilities that are being provided within the villages.

He also refuted allegations that the ICRC had been asked to end their operations in Sri Lanka, noting that all they, as well as others, have been told is to “scale down” their operations consistent with the changed circumstances resulting from the ending of the armed conflict. He said previously the ICRC was involved in accompanying food consignments, transporting patients and transfer of bodies of those killed in combat between the security forces and the LTTE - requirements that ceased since 19 May 2009. He added that the public clarification the previous week by 5 government medical doctors who made false statements on civilian casualty figures and attacks, at the dictates of the LTTE in the last period of operations, should be instructive on the need to avoid being gullible in believing the propaganda of the LTTE and its agents abroad and making policy pronouncements based on such propaganda.

He also informed members that local government elections will be held in Jaffna and Vavuniya in August, and that as done in the Eastern Province following the eviction of the LTTE from the area, normalcy will be rapidly restored in the Northern Province as well.