N and E enjoy all facilities today - Basil

The most important Human Right for the people of the conflict-affected North and East Provinces was to get basic facilities to restart their life at the end of the conflict. The government provided all facilities within a short period to ensure their basic right. These people are now experiencing a peaceful life after three decades, Senior Advisor to the President and Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa said when he met representatives of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The delegation headed by Hanny Megally, Chief, Asia Pacific and Middle East and N African Branch, OHCHR met Minister Rajapaksa at the Economic Development Ministry yesterday accompanied by Oscar Solers, Human Rights Officer, Rule of Law and Democracy selection of OHCHR. The minister said during the conflict period, the government provided food and other basic requirements to people in government controlled areas and LTTE controlled areas without discrimination.

"Even the LTTE used to get a major part of these provisions. The LTTE attacked the ship carrying basic requirement for the North and Eastern Provinces. With the help of the IRCS, we were able to continue these services," Rajapaksa said. He said at the end of the conflict, the biggest problem was to build IDP camps for more than 300,000 people and maintain them properly until resettling the people.

"We had to provide food and drinking water for the starving people, then setup camps with basic facilities. When we started to setup semi - permanent shelters to face the rainy season, some people deliberately attempted to explain it as a move to resettle IDPs in these camps permanently and even some organisations stopped helping us. Despite all these obstacles, we were able to maintain over 300,000 IDPs with proper shelter, drinking water, food, sanitation, medicine and other facilities," the minister said.

He said the next task was to resettle IDPs at the end of the conflict.

"We had to first clear the areas with debacles and then start the demining programme. We did humanitarian and battlefield demining and ensured a mine free life for all IDPs. We built new houses and renovated damaged houses. IDPs were resettled in their original places," he said.

"They were then provided a cash grant, roofing sheets, cement, a kitchen kit, an agriculture kit and medicine for an emergency. Thereafter, we started to help them with their livelihood development programmes restoring agriculture, livestock and fishing industries," the minister said. He said simultaneously, the government initiated a massive infrastructure development programmes in the affected areas.

"Roads, irrigation facilities, water, electricity, education facilities, hospitals and bridges were reconstructed, renovated and newly built. These people are now enjoying infrastructure facilities well over the other provinces," he said.

The people in these two provinces are enjoying very peaceful life after the three decade of uncertainly and fear about their life. There are no roadblocks or checkpoints, no mining , no fear of sudden explosion, no sound of gun fighting. The government has safeguarded the Human Rights of these people by ensuring a life without fear and uncertainly, providing facilities to start a new life in their original places, developing infrastructure and helping to develop their livelihood, he said.

Responding to a query by the delegation, the minister said there are still some problems such as getting back the IDPs now in camps in India and resettling the old IDPs.

Answering another question by the delegation, the minister said President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the UPFA government are paying highest attention to win the hearts and minds of these people.

"We are successful to some extent as seen in the Eastern election results. The UPFA won the highest number of votes from the Eastern province. But communal politics will divide the people," he said.

"But I am certain that the people will reject the communal politics very soon," he said.

Subinay Nandy, United Nations resident coordinator in Sri Lanka, Prof Sunanda Madduma Bandara, Director General of the Ministry of Economic Development, S B Divaratne, Secretary to the PTF, Saroja Sirisena, Director General of External Affairs, Ministry of Economic Development, U L M Jauhar, Director General of Ministry of External Affair also participated.