A closure that opens opportunities

Menik Farm in Vavuniya, which is bound to trigger mixed feelings in some quarters, has been closed, the country is told, on the overwhelming majority of IDPS from the North, who were housed in it, being resettled.

Considering that it was a refuge of sorts for tens of thousands of persons in the aftermath of the humanitarian operation of May 2009 and also taking into account that it ensured their security until they were resettled, the Farm could be seen as a symbol of nation re-building, rather than being looked upon as a welfare centre and little else.

We are left to infer that with the last few of the displaced leaving the Farm, the IDP issue in this country has been seemingly largely resolved. Welfare centres are usually nothing to be proud of, since they are suggestive of the unsettled conditions that stem from war and social disruption.

The Menik Farm, moreover, on account of the vast numbers residing in it and as a consequence of the problems that come in the wake of multitudes living under a few roofs, found itself at the centre of controversy initially, but one could say that the state managed to ensure stable conditions within the Farm over the past few years with relative effectiveness.

Nevertheless, the state’s resettlement programme has been raising a few queries in some quarters and it is best that the government pays close attention to these opinions for the purpose of improving its normalization effort.

Ideally, the displaced should be resettled in their former habitations with all essential services at their command and it would be in order for the state to meet all these requirements to the best of its ability. We suggest that the displaced themselves be closely consulted in the course of the resettlement programme.

At this juncture, the state would also do well to ensure that all sections which were displaced by the conflict since the early eighties are resettled in their former homesteads. This is an essential prerequisite for normalization and we hope it is being addressed by the state.

We cannot underestimate the gravity of the challenges faced by the government in these contexts but concrete and meaningful action needs to be taken on the issues in question and those sections affected by the conflict are likely to join us in wishing that the reconstruction and rehabilitation effort is qualitatively improved as days go by. These new challenges that confront the polity need to be gladly welcomed.

The state cannot rest content in the realization that some tasks in the national rejuvenation effort have been fulfilled. There is more to be done and this realization, we hope, would continue to drive the state in its normalization effort.

Rather than be discouraged by the remaining challenges we need to see them as stepping stones to greater achievements on the rebuilding and rehabilitation fronts. Therefore, the closure of the Menik Farm should be seen as the launching pad for qualitatively better endeavours in the nation-rebuilding sphere.

It is not possible to satisfy to the fullest all parties in these tasks. Accordingly, the state needs to be ready for bouquets as well as brickbats. However, it is of the profoundest importance that President Mahinda Rajapaksa is maintaining a very high presence in the North, personally ensuring that the urgent needs of the people are met to the extent possible.

The latest essential services project which was flagged-off by the President in the North was the power transmission programme, which linked the province to the national grid.

There is still a long way to go in the nation-building effort. We are only at the beginning of this great endeavour. Ensuring better material conditions for the people constitutes the first steps in this historic effort.

Having laid the basis for Sustained Development in the North-East, the state must ensure that every section of the populace identifies closely with it. This would be possible only if the citizenry believes that social justice is prevailing strongly over the length and breadth of Sri Lanka.

The successful resettlement and rehabilitation of the displaced could prove the earnestness of the state in this context. The building of houses and the resettlement of the displaced is of the first importance in this challenge.

However, those affected by the conflict need to also feel at home in this country and this is where the factor of social and economic justice comes in. When the latter conditions are fulfilled, sections affected by the conflict would feel completely at home in this country.