“I am one of the victims uprooted from the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) High Security Zone 20 years ago and the petition filed by me in court seeking resettlement is pending inquiry. It is ridiculous for Jaffna Government Agent Ms. Imelda Sukumar to claim that there are no HSZs in Jaffna peninsula,” Mavai Senathirajah, Tamil Natilonal Alliance (TNA) Jaffna district parliamentarian said. Ms. Imelda Sukumar, speaking at the event of the handing over of furniture by SLA to Jaffna Teaching Hospital Saturday had claimed that there were no HSZs in Jaffna peninsula but only areas which need to be cleared of landmines.
Meanwhile, the uprooted families from Valikaamam North, languishing in camps and with relatives and friends as refugees for the past 20 years, and their Welfare Organizations are angered over Imelda Sukumar’s statement Saturday. They said that she is trying to keep her post by giving in to government pressure.
Ms. Imelda Sukumar had also told the EC parliamentarians who visited Jaffna recently that there were no HSZs in Jaffna peninsula and only the areas infested with landmines are not allowed for resettlement until the mines are removed.
She accused the local media for misreporting on the resettlement in the HSZs, speaking at the Saturday event.
Mavai Senathirajah also pointed out that the committee appointed by Colombo Supreme Court in July 2008 to explore resettlement in Vallikaamam North continues function and Imelda Sukumar cannot deny the existence of HSZs in the peninsula.
Colombo Supreme Court had appointed the above committee after inquiring into the Fundamental Rights Violation petition filed by the uprooted families seeking permission to resettle in their villages in Valikaamam north and to engage in their livelihoods.
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