NGOs out: Mullaitivu faces food crisis

~ GA summons meeting; LTTE adamant

By Chris Kamalendran

International and local NGOs operating in the Mullaitivu district have withdrawn from relief work and food distribution and returned to Kilinochchi on the instructions of the LTTE, officials said. Mullaitivu Government Agent Emelda Sukumar summoned a meeting on Friday to discuss the food situation in the Mullaitivu district in view of possible food shortages for displaced people in the area.

The LTTE representatives were also called for a separate meeting where they were told that food shortages could arise due to the non-availability of backup food stocks in the district. They were requested to provide their assistance for food distribution, but the LTTE had made no change in its decision.

The GA also urged the International and local NGOs not to abandon their food distribution programmes as some 26,000 families displaced due to the conflict would be seriously affected. Among the groups which were forced to withdraw from Mullaitivu are the World Food Programme, CARE, German Red Cross, FORUT, Seva Lanka, the UNICEF and the UNHCR.

WFP Deputy Country Director Jean Yves Lequime said there was some concern about security prompting the withdrawal. “Food security is our priority and we wanted to ensure that the situation was stable. Our activities in the area will resume soon,” he said.