UN official lauds N-E rehab programme

Sri Lanka has achieved excellent results in its North – East rehabilitation and resettlement programme and post-conflict economic development drive, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and response division director John Ging said.

“Sri Lanka should share these experiences with other countries,” he said at a meeting with senior advisor to the President and Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa.

Ging on a three-day official visit to Sri Lanka, met Minister Rajapaksa at the Economic Development Ministry on Tuesday.

The minister said Sri Lanka was able to complete most of the rehabilitation and reconstruction work successfully because of the help from the international community including UN agencies and INGOs as well as local institutions and the public.

“We have resettled IDPs who were displaced as a result of the last phase of the humanitarian operation. However, now our biggest problem is to resettle the IDPs displaced in the earlier periods of the conflict.

“There are people in IDP camps in India. Some were chased away by the LTTE from the North Eastern Province and they are still living in places outside the North East Province. They were not provided facilities offered to the new IDPs. Sri Lanka has to now solve this problem and is seeking the help of international organisations.”

Ging said OCHA will provide assistance to resettle all IDPs.

He said he has confidence that Sri Lanka can solve the IDPs’ problems soon.

“I have travelled to many countries with similar problems. But I can say Sri Lanka’s progress after the end of the conflict is tremedous,” Ging said.