Only international community can solve our sorrows: Vali North Resettlement and Rehabilitation Committee to Zeid

Valikamam North Resettlement and Rehabilitation Committee , in a memorandum submitted to  UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Husein, has urged him take steps to allow the displaced people of Valikamam North area to resettle in their own lands and ensure their occupations at the earliest.

The memorandum was handed over to the visiting High Commissioner today in Jaffna.

As pointed out in the Memorandum, the Vallikamam North area situated at the Northern part of Jaffna District comprises of 45 Grama Niladhari (Village Headman) divisions. People of this area got displaced 1990, due to the war situation. Whole area under 22 Grama Niladhari Divisions have not been allowed to resettlement.

The Committee commented in the Memorandum that the Security Forces are forcibly occupying this area under the cover of “security “ and are refusing to allow the people to resettle in the area by ignoring the order made by the Supreme court in a case filed in 2003.

The Committee also iterated that only international community can help them to solve their problems and sorrows.

The full text of the memorandum is as follows:

The Vallikamam North area situated at the Northern part of Jaffna District comprises of 45 Grama Niladhari (Village Headman) divisions. People of this area got displaced 1990, due to the war situation. Whole area under 22 Grama Niladhari Divisions have not been allowed to resettlement.

Due to this, 31,186 people from 9059 families have to be resettled in this area with 22 Square Kilometers or 5342 acre of land. For the last 26 years these people are living in welfare centres and with their friends and relatives.  In addition several places of worship are getting ruined due to lack of maintenance.

These people whose main livelihood earnings are agriculture and fishing have lost their means of earnings and are leading miserable lives with the relief too having been stopped. In addition to these people, there are thousands of people of this area living as refugees in India and other countries are to be resettled in this area.

The Security Forces are forcibly occupying this area under the cover of “security “ and are refusing to allow the people to resettle in the area by ignoring the order made by the Supreme court in a case filed in 2003.

The statement that the Security Forces can acquire any land without consulting the owners of lands and the Members of the Parliament, who are the elected Representatives of the people is not acceptable. Establishment of Tourist Hotels and Yoghurt factories by the army in this area too  cannot be considered as security purposes.

Furthermore there is no necessity to keep these lands owned by people by the Army under the pretext of harbor development and airport development. All these were under the civil administration earlier and there can be no problem to anyone in continuing with that arrangement.

A proposal to establish an airport at Weeraketiya in Hampanthtota in Southern Sri Lanka, was abandoned due to the objections by the farmers of that area and it was shifted to a different site. However, what is the justification grabbing the lands belonging to the Tamil farmers and fishermen?  Why cannot it be handled in the same way as it was handled at Weraketiya ?

Amidst all these, the owners of the lands in which the displaced people are living are pressurizing them to vacate their lands.

We would like to point out about the resolution passed by United Nations Human Rights Commission based on the recommendation of the Learned Lessons and Reconciliation Commission appointed by the President to allow the displaced people to resettle in their own lands.

Further the Committee wishes to bring to your Excellencies notice that the armed Forces stationed in the area are still being engaged in the destruction and demolishing the houses, Temples, schools shopping complexes and other buildings and earnestly appeal and request your Excellency to prevent armed forces from further engaging in such destruction.

Under these circumstances, we request you to allow the people of this area to resettle in their own lands and ensure their occupations at the earliest.

We believe that only international community can help us to solve our problems and sorrows.