Aid Slowly Reaching Sri Lanka’s War Refugees

[Coventina]

Source: New York Times

NEW DELHI — Eleven days after the Sri Lankan government declared victory over Tamil rebels in the country’s north, aid organizations are slowly beginning to get freer access to the 265,000 civilians displaced by the fighting, according to aid officials in the region, but not quickly enough to meet the vast needs.

Sri Lankan officials have eased restrictions on vehicle traffic in the camps, allowing workers from organizations like the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations and Doctors Without Borders, better access to the ethnic Tamils displaced by the fighting who are living in sprawling and squalid camps, according to aid workers.

“At this point the I.C.R.C. can visit any of the I.D.P. sites, but clear procedures are still lacking,” said Sarasi Wijeratne, spokesperson for International Committee of the Red Cross in Sri Lanka, referring to camps for internally displaced persons.

Mahinda Samarasinghe, Sri Lanka’s minister of disaster management and human rights, told the United Nations Human Rights commission this week that the government is committed to making sure the displaced get help.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/30/world/asia/30lanka.html?ref=global-home