Minister Samarasinghe reiterates call to Wanni civilians

COLOMBO: Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights, Mahinda Samarasinghe, who also chairs the Consultative Committee on Humanitarian Assistance (CCHA), welcomed the statement made by Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Public Security and Law and Order on Thursday regarding the establishment of a safe corridor for the escape of civilians from the conflict in the Wanni.

He said the overriding interest of the Government was to ensure the safety and security of conflict-affected civilians who were being invited to seek refuge in cleared areas in and around Vavuniya.

The Government has decided to further develop Vavuniya as a storage and logistical hub for humanitarian assistance including food and non-food items.

The ongoing efforts of the Government in this connection are being complemented by international partners who have also commenced stockpiling food and humanitarian supplies for civilians escaping from or displaced by armed conflict.

Among these agencies are the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP). For instance, the WFP uses Vavuniya as a logistics hub and a transit point for humanitarian assistance to the Wanni with facilities to store buffer stocks.

The WFP managed permanent storage space is utilised by the UN agencies and INGOs alike. Work has commenced on the upgrade of a garment factory in close proximity to the current Vavuniya logistics hub for both inter-agency storage and office facilities.

Civilians who escape to Vavuniya will thus be able to access the full gamut of humanitarian assistance that the Government, supplemented by its international partners, is providing.

Minister Samarasinghe stressed that, in spite of the ongoing military operations, the Government has continued to supply the people in uncleared areas with essential supplies and services through the District Secretaries whilst being fully aware that all of the supplies were not reaching ordinary civilians.

This is probably a unique situation in the world and is indicative of the deep commitment of President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s administration to ensure the well being of ordinary Sri Lankan civilians living in these areas.

He said that the Government was appreciative of the efforts of UN Agencies, international and local Non-Governmental Organisations in supplementing the Government’s initiative in caring for conflict affected communities in the entirety of the North, especially those persons displaced by the conflict.

The Minister called on all relevant parties to ensure that civilians are allowed to use the safe humanitarian corridor and facilitated to travel to secure areas without hindrance. He also called on the international community to put pressure on any non-state actors who were preventing this movement or otherwise denying civilians in the Wanni the right to personal security and safety.

He said that the efforts of the Government to prevent civilian casualties as a result of military operations and to care for civilians must be reciprocated by all others and the fundamental rights of civilians must be ensured in keeping with international humanitarian law.

In conclusion Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said that, through the modality of the CCHA, he would ensure all necessary facilitation and coordination among Government, the donor community, UN and other international agencies and organisations, in the provision of humanitarian assistance and relief to civilians in the North.