THE NORTH
Deadly homecoming
EIGHT civilians in a tractor were killed by a landmine in Kondavil, 3 miles north of Jaffna town on 28 May. People now fear to return to some areas of the peninsula. Over 20 people injured by landmines are currently receiving treatment at the Jaffna hospital.
Jaffna hospital administrative officer R Pathmanathan says around 60% of employees have returned to work. There are no surgeons and emergency surgery is currently carried out at the military hospital in Palaly airbase. The Chavakachcheri hospital further east is also functioning and doctors say there is an acute shortage of medicines.
Over 11,000 hectares of land in Jaffna District remains uncultivated and food is in short supply. A five-member family receives 9 kilos rice, 8 kilos flour and 6 kilos sugar per month which people say is hardly sufficient.
Forty two journalists airlifted to Jaffna on 8 May by the government for a guided tour saw long food queues. People told the journalists that were queuein
g for over ten hours. Maj.Gen. Janaka Perera says the food shortage is due to unexpected number of people returning to their homes and the situation will improve gradually. Scarcity has caused steep rise in prices. Rice costs Rs 70 a kilo and kerosene Rs 110 a bottle.
Although international NGOs have been given access to Valikamam area, relief work is difficult without a distribution mechanism. The lack of coordination between the four separate military commands now administering Jaffna is also creating problems.
A night curfew is in force and people are being issued new identity cards. They have been ordered to exhibit a list of residents and fly a white flag outside their homes. Many returning residents were dismayed to find their homes plundered and are down-hearted at the prospect of beginning life from scratch. Over 80% of the houses are damaged and accommodation is a major problem.
Over 300 Tamil youths returning home were taken into custody. Parents have been denied access but reports say the ICRC was allowed to visit them. Some 60 LTTE suspects have been moved to Colombo and are currently held in police stations. According to reports from Jaffna the Army is also hunting for 50 human rights and religious activists it links with LTTE.
People arriving in Colombo by the twice-a-week government ferry service through Trincomalee say the Army is cautious in its dealings with civilians. Observers believe the situation may change if the LTTE launched major attacks in the peninsula. Soldiers are accused of rape of a young woman at Nunavil in Thenmaratchy on 5 May. The LTTE says four civilians were shot dead by soldiers on 28 May at Kondavil, six miles north of Jaffna town.
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