UN refugee head promises further assistance to Sri Lanka
Walter JAYAWARDHANA
|
Antonio
Gutteres |
Head of the United Nation Refugee Agency Antonio Gutteres promised
Sri Lanka that the agency would further help the island in the process
of caring and resettling the Internally Displaced Tamil civilians in the
North.
The United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees made this pledge
when Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe
met him for discussions in Geneva. Gutteres, who is also a former Prime
Minister of Portugal was briefed by the Sri Lankan Minister on the
progress of the Internally Displaced Persons in welfare centres and
their resettlement on September 16. Samarasinghe made a request for
further assistance for the IDP centres. The Government is fast de-mining
the former settlements of the IDP to make them safer places to live.
Since the manual de-mining formerly done was slower than mechanized
de-mining Sri Lanka is introducing mechanical de-miners after importing
such machinery from Croatia and Australia. |
