The Sri Lankan government should move faster on allowing freedom of movement for nearly 300,000 war-displaced civilians living in camps to prevent them becoming "internment" facilities, the U.N.'s top aid official says.
Following the end of the civil war in mid-May, Colombo argues it needs time to weed out suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels, who may be mixing with residents, before permitting people to move in and out of the camps in the north. But John Holmes, the U.N. under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, told AlertNet the screening process is moving too slowly.
"The LTTE was a very brutal movement, so the government has legitimate concerns about making sure the kinds of activities they were undertaking do not recur," he said in an interview.
"On the other hand, the longer this goes on, the more they will become the internment camps we do not want to see, and would not be able to help with, so that's why we need to see some rapid progress in this area."
The United Nations is now more worried about the issue of freedom of movement than living conditions in camps, which are getting better every day, according to Holmes. More land is being cleared and more tents are being put up to relieve overcrowding. Sanitation facilities are also improving, bringing conditions closer to international humanitarian standards, although there is still some way to go.
Holmes - who visited Sri Lanka with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in late May - said Colombo should rapidly screen people in camps, separating out those it is suspicious of and providing the rest with identity cards so they can move around to look for lost family members - "a huge problem" for many uprooted by the conflict.
So far only some elderly people have been allowed to leave, and while there are plans to give permission to other vulnerable groups including the disabled, Holmes said this is not yet happening at a satisfactory pace.
EASING RESTRICTIONS
Another major concern for aid agencies has been government-imposed restrictions on their access to camps, particularly the main Menik Farm site, which is home to around quarter of a million people, including tens of thousands who were trapped for weeks in the conflict zone during the final stage of the war.
Holmes said the government agreed last week to ease curbs on the number and type of relief group vehicles entering Menik Farm, which had been a major hindrance to humanitarian activities because of the camp's sprawling size.
"The question is how consistently this (agreement) is being applied, so we're still monitoring that," he said. "But we are able to work in this one very large camp, so I think that will work itself out."
However, discussions with the government on giving the United Nations and other aid agencies access to the former war zone on the northeastern coast have yet to make any progress. This is essential for understanding the extent of the problems facing recovery and reconstruction activities, Holmes said.
"We need to move forward on this area because it's relevant to how fast the resettlement process can go, which is in turn absolutely vital for the political reconciliation process, which is fundamental," he explained.
Obstacles include concerns over groups of rebels who may still be in the Vanni region, as well as the dangers posed by landmines and other unexploded weaponry.
Sri Lanka has said it plans to resettle most of the displaced within six months, but aid workers warn their return is likely to take considerably longer - especially if funding for both the humanitarian and recovery operations continues to fall short of requirements.
ABUSES PROBE UNLIKELY?
Relations between Colombo and some donor governments have been strained by allegations of abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law during the conflict - although these have been levelled at both sides.
Holmes said the best way to resolve the issue would be to launch an investigation, which the government appeared to agree to when it signed a joint statement after his recent visit with Ban Ki-Moon.
As yet, the United Nations has no plans for such an inquiry, and the U.N. Human Rights Council last month decided against a probe of possible war crimes, mainly due to opposition from Colombo and other sympathetic governments.
Holmes said there is a risk the allegations may not be investigated at all, but he does not expect the controversy to hamper the humanitarian response in the north.
"There's no logical connection between that and the continuation of the aid operation which needs to go forward under its own steam and in its own right because there are nearly 300,000 people who are in desperate need of help," he said.
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