Battered East in struggle to rise again
By Santhush Fernando in Batticaloa
As the Eastern Province goes through a period of transition from war to peace amidst rising tensions, the question of human rights violations and the living standards of the people still appear to be burning issues.

One of the main issues raised by a Human Rights Commission delegation, that visited the East last week, was the plight of the Internally Displaced People. They pointed out that out of the 12,200 displaced people only 4200 have been resettled so far. Outlining the process regarding resettlement, project director of the rehabilitation and resettlement programme of Batticaloa R. Jayaram said that the refugees had to be first identified by their respective Divisional Secretariats. The next step he said was the construction of wells, sanitary facilities and medical centres.

Once the refugees are resettled each family is given Rs. 25,000 to start a livelihood, Rs. 75,000 for housing and a six month supply of dry rations. When The Sunday Times spoke to some public servants in the area they said the lack of resources and finances were the main drawbacks in the smooth functioning of the administrative system. They also spoke about a feeling of insecurity due to the activities of some LTTE cadres. Many public servants have to pay taxes to the LTTE, though they did not admit to it in public through fear.

Transport too is in a bad way. The Valachchenai-Batticaloa rail track which had been rebuilt at a cost of Rs. 178 million and declared open on July 1 was disconnected at Vandaramulla allegedly by LTTE cadres. Rail workers had been threatened not to repair it, bringing rail transport to a standstill. People have to rely on a very irregular road transport system.

Many of the Akkaraipattu NGO activists, The Sunday Times spoke to voiced concern that though the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement had brought calm to the once war- ravaged province, the economic and social standards of the people had seen little improvement. An umbrella of 19 NGO's, in Akkaraipattu, conducts programmes promoting peace mainly for women and children

Sounding a somewhat positive note, A. T. Sadanandamoorthy, Administrative Officer of the Akkaraipattu NGO Consortium said although the living standards of the people had not improved as expected, at least people were able to move freely, engage in cultivation and mingle with other communities.

Another hardship that the people have to face especially in the Batticaloa district is the shortage of water during the dry season from April to September and the threat of floods during the rainy season. Batticaloa is a low-lying area and the lack of proper drainage system leads to floods. Last week around 10,000 families were affected due to heavy floods.

Although the people of Batticalo and Ampara were not directly affected by the recent violent incidents in Kinniya and Muttur there was a prevailing sense of fear and uncertainty. The business community appeared to be more optimistic as they felt that the prevailing peace has resulted in better socio-economic conditions for the people in the East. Rajan Sathyamoorthy, President of the Traders Association in Batticaloa, said that now traders did not have to wait for 48 hours at checkpoints and they could travel to Colombo in eight hours.

He said contrary to reports in the media, businessmen were not forcibly taxed by the LTTE and that it was purely voluntary. He said they had invited the LTTE to cooperate with them to improve the economy of Batticaloa.He was of the view that people should not emphasise too much on the incidents of human rights violations but look at the dividends that the ceasefire agreement had brought to the people of the East.

A South- Eastern University official said although 80 per cent of the 1,200 students were Muslims there was no division among them and the rest of the students who were Tamils. He said the LTTE should punish those cadres who were allegedly causing havoc in government controlled areas and then seek refuge in LTTE controlled areas to evade the law.

M. Anwer of the Kinniya Branch of the Council of Muslim Theologians said inspite of the prevailing calm in the area the incidents in Muttur and Kinniya highlighted the fact that Muslims were still being harassed. He said a memorandum had been submitted to the SLMM sometime back, regarding the continuing harassment of Muslims in Kinniya.

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