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Tamils

Answer

The humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka is remains very serious. As a result of violence, long-term conflict and the 2006 tsunami, there are over 800,000 internally displaced persons. The continuous closure of the main A9 highway linking the Jaffna peninsula with the mainland has made land access impossible for the mainly Tamil speaking residents, severely compromised the local economy and led to the increase in the prices of essential items. Internally displaced people from the Jaffna district as well as parts of north-eastern Sri Lanka remain unable to return to their homes due to the demarcation of large areas as ““High Security Zones””.The UK, EU and the wider international community have repeatedly pressed the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE to guarantee free access for relief agencies to deliver humanitarian aid to all Sri Lankans affected by the fighting. In September 2007, the Department for International Development (DFID) contributed £1 million to the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to help provide protection and humanitarian assistance to people affected by the violence. DFID has already contributed a further £250,000 to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 2008 Appeal. DFID continues to closely monitor the humanitarian situation, including by sending regular monitoring missions to Sri Lanka, the last being in November 2007.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

479 c58W;479 c56W; 218669

Session

2007-08

Subjects

Sri Lanka Internally displaced people Tamils Humanitarian situation

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk