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| Friday, 16 April 2004 |
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Security | |
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President's prompt action ensures refugees swift return home The prompt action by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga to afford relief to the civilians displaced by the recent conflict in the Eastern Province have enabled the refugees to return to their homes. The President appointed a Special Committee headed by Presidential Senior Advisor K. Balapatabendi to provide immediate relief to the people affected by the recent confrontation. The Committee included Army Commander Lieutenant General Lionel Balagalla, Human Disaster Management Council Executive Director Sarath Chandrasiri and Secretary of the Ministry of Social Services. This Committee appointed a Provincial Coordinating Committee under Major General Asoka Jayawardena, Governor of the North East, which gathered particulars of 3,999 families in the Batticaloa area and 220 displaced families in the Trincomalee District and among whom meals for three days and a week's dry ration were distributed, states a press release issued by the Presidential Secretariat yesterday. In addition, the victims were provided temporary accommodation and other facilities and a lorry load of essentials were despatched to the area as a precautionary measure. A special allocation of Rs. 1 million was channelled to the Batticaloa District through the Social Services Department to meet any exigency. The President has also directed the Human Disaster Management Council to prepare a report to inaugurate a Special Contingency Fund to meet any unexpected disaster in the North and the East, and appointed a Committee comprising Presidential Secretary W. J. S. Karunaratne, Balapatabendi and Sarathchandrasiri Vithana to monitor the Fund and to take steps to prevent any recurrence of a similar situation. President Kumaratunga has convened a meeting of State officials of the areas concerned and the representatives of the UNHCR at the President's House on April 19 to review the progress and discuss future strategies. |
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