2008: Fin de la guerre ou fin de la paix

Invérifiable dans une guerre qui se déroule sans témoins, le bilan du conflit qui oppose l'armée sri-lankaise aux séparatistes tamouls des Tigres de libération de l'Eelam tamoul (LTTE) ne cesse de s'alourdir. Près de cent personnes (90 militants du LTTE et 9 soldats, selon l'armée) ont été tuées en quatre jours, au cours des combats quotidiens dans le nord de l'île. Tamilnet.com, site Internet qui relaie les revendications des Tigres, affirme, en revanche, que l'armée a subi de lourdes pertes ce week-end après des heures de combats d'artillerie.

 

 

 

 

 

Depuis le début de l'année, selon l'armée, 1 823 Tigres tamouls et 105 membres des forces de sécurité ont été tués. Il faut ajouter à ce bilan un grand nombre de blessés des deux côtés, les victimes civiles, qui se comptent par dizaines, et les milliers de déplacés, qui errent au gré des combats.

 

 

 

Après avoir expulsé le LTTE de la partie orientale de l'île grâce à la défection d'un de ses anciens responsables, l'armée s'est lancée dans la reconquête du nord, à majorité tamoule, dont une partie est sous le contrôle des séparatistes. Commandant en chef de l'armée, le général Sarath Fonseka s'est juré de terminer au cours de "cette année" cette guerre qui dure depuis 1983 et qui a déjà fait plus de 65 000 morts.

 

 

 

Quatre mois d'opérations quotidiennes, qui engagent à la fois les troupes au sol, l'aviation et la marine, n'ont toutefois pas apporté de succès significatifs, l'armée n'ayant réussi qu'à repousser de quelques kilomètres les lignes de front dans le district occidental de Mannar.

 

 

 

Acculé sur ses positions, le LTTE se bat et, parallèlement, utilise les opérations suicides dans le reste de l'île pour effrayer la majorité cinghalaise et obliger les forces de sécurité à se tenir en alerte partout.

 

 

 

Le coût financier de la guerre ne cesse aussi d'augmenter, et le gouvernement du président Mahinda Rajapakse va dépenser cette année environ 1,5 milliard de dollars pour la défense. Privé des largesses de la communauté internationale qui auraient dû accompagner le processus de paix, aujourd'hui enterré, le gouvernement est confronté à une situation économique de plus en plus difficile. L'inflation a atteint 21,7 % en 2007, pesant lourdement sur le quotidien des 20 millions de Sri-Lankais. La poursuite de la guerre demeure toutefois, pour l'instant, la seule stratégie du gouvernement.

 

Le Monde, du 06.03.08.

folie meutrière

Sri Lanka : un attentat marque la fin officielle de la trêve entre le gouvernement et les LTTE

 

LEMONDE.FR avec AFP et Reuters | 16.01.08 | 09h36  •  Mis à jour le 16.01.08 | 09h44 

 

 

Au moins 23 civils ont été tués et 67 autres blessés, dans l'explosion d'une bombe au Sri Lanka, mercredi 16 janvier. Le véhicule visé "était un bus public transportant au moins 60 civils parmi lesquels des écoliers", a indiqué le porte-parole de l'armée sri-lankaise, Udaya Nanayakkara. L'autocar circulait entre Buttala et Okkampitiya, dans le sud de l'île, lorsqu'une bombe à fragmentation dissimulée dans le véhicule ou déposée au bord de la route a sauté, selon le ministère de la défense. 

 

 

 

 ÉCHEC DE LA MÉDIATION JAPONAISE POUR SAUVER LE CESSEZ-LE-FEU

 

Les autorités accusent les "terroristes" des Tigres de libération de l'Eelam tamoul (LTTE) d'être à l'origine de cette action. Cet attentat coïncide avec la fin officielle de la trêve entre le gouvernement et les LTTE conclue en février 2002 sous l'égide de la Norvège.

 

 

 

Un émissaire japonais a échoué, lors de sa visite au Sri Lanka achevée mardi, à sauver la paix et le cessez-le-feu. Yasushi Akashi, dont le pays est le premier bailleur de fonds au Sri Lanka, avait laissé entendre à son arrivée dimanche que l'aide internationale pourrait se tarir si les violences continuaient. "Le programme d'assistance japonais se fonde sur des facteurs complexes tels que les besoins politiques, économiques et humanitaires. Nous examinerons la situation de près avant de prendre des mesures supplémentaires", a déclaré à la presse l'ancien diplomate des Nations unies.

 

 

Assinat d'un ministre

Le Sri Lanka sur le qui-vive après l'assassinat d'un ministre

Article paru dans l'édition du 10.01.08

 Le gouvernement accuse les séparatistes tamouls d'avoir perpétré l'attentat qui a tué D. M. Dassanayake. Après la rupture du cessez-le-feu par les autorités, la violence reprend 

 

 La mort, mardi 8 janvier, dans un attentat à la bombe, du député et ministre de la construction, D. M. Dassanayake, a accru les craintes d'une violence généralisée au Sri Lanka, alors que le gouvernement s'est officiellement retiré de l'accord de cessez-le-feu avec les Tigres de libération de l'Eelam Tamoul (LTTE) signé en 2002 sous l'égide de la Norvège.

M. Dassanayake est le deuxième parlementaire à être tué depuis le début de l'année, après l'assassinat dans un temple de Colombo du député tamoul du Parti national uni (UNP, opposition), T. Maheswaran. Dans les deux cas, les autorités ont rejeté la responsabilité sur le LTTE. Mardi, le président sri-lankais, Mahinda Rajapakse, a laissé entendre que le gouvernement pourrait riposter. « Ce triste événement nous rappelle une nouvelle fois la nécessité de redoubler nos efforts pour débarrasser le pays du terrorisme et de l'usage de la violence à des fins politiques », a-t-il déclaré dans un communiqué. Il a estimé que le ministre avait été visé parce qu'il avait la charge de coordonner les efforts de reconstruction dans l'est du pays, dont les Tigres ont été chassés après une offensive de l'armée en juillet 2007.

Le retrait officiel du gouvernement d'un accord de cessez-le-feu qui n'existait plus que sur le papier - 6 000 personnes ont été tuées dans des incidents liés au conflit depuis la fin 2005 - va entraîner le départ de la mission scandinave d'observation du cessez-le-feu, éliminant ainsi les derniers témoins d'une guerre qui frappe sévèrement les civils. « Le démantèlement de la mission risque d'accroître la violence, avec un plus grand niveau d'impunité, ce qui aura des conséquences catastrophiques sur la population des zones de conflit, que le gouvernement comme le LTTE ont réussi à maintenir hors limites », affirme Jehan Perera, du Conseil national pour la paix, une organisation indépendante sri-lankaise.

 

ARRESTATIONS EN MASSE Selon plusieurs sources, les bombardements aériens sur des bases du LTTE n'épargnent pas les civils, qui sont aussi victimes des attentats à la bombe perpétrés par les Tigres. Les combats, qui ont redoublé dans le nord de l'île, en partie contrôlé par les rebelles, ont fait, selon le gouvernement, 95 morts du côté des Tigres et 6 dans l'armée, depuis le début de l'année. Ils ont provoqué le déplacement de 5 000 personnes. Dans l'est du pays, 20 000 déplacés par les affrontements de l'été vivent toujours dans des camps de fortune. A Colombo, la communauté tamoule vit dans la crainte, alors que de vastes rafles sont entreprises par les forces de sécurité. Dans une opération de recherche lancée dimanche, celles-ci ont contrôlé 280 000 véhicules, interrogé 75 000 personnes et en ont arrêté 198, a indiqué la police. Le fait d'être tamoul suffit à rendre suspect, et beaucoup de jeunes craignent d'être injustement interpellés. Malgré les déclarations du gouvernement affirmant qu'il est toujours prêt à négocier avec le LTTE, il est clair que seule la guerre est à l'ordre du jour. Divisé, sans réelle majorité, le gouvernement est incapable aujourd'hui de dégager un consensus pour une solution politique à un conflit qui ne peut se résoudre militairement.

Le LTTE, qui se bat pour l'obtention d'une patrie indépendante pour la minorité tamoule de l'île, ne montre aucun signe de compromis lui non plus. De son côté, la communauté internationale, qui avait soutenu politiquement et financièrement les négociations de paix, semble se lasser de l'incapacité des protagonistes à trouver un terrain d'entente.

Fin d'un espoir

Le gouvernement sri-lankais se retire du cessez-le-feu conclu avec les séparatistes tamouls

 

LEMONDE.FR : Article publié le 02.01.08

 

Le cessez-le-feu avait été conclu avec les rebelles séparatistes tamouls en février 2002, sous l'égide de la Norvège. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Le Sri Lanka a annoncé mercredi 2 janvier qu'il se retirait formellement du cessez-le-feu conclu en février 2002 avec les rebelles séparatistes tamouls."Le conseil des ministres a décidé aujourd'hui de se retirer du cessez-le-feu", a déclaré le porte-parole de la présidence, Chandrapala Liyanage, ajoutant que "le processus légal" allait être engagé.

 

 

 

Conformément au cessez-le-feu de février 2002, signé sous l'égide de la Norvège, aussi bien les Tigres de libération de l'Eelam tamoul (LTTE) que le gouvernement ont la possibilité de se retirer de l'accord après avoir donné un préavis de deux semaines à Oslo. Le cessez-le-feu a dans les faits volé en éclats depuis l'arrivée au pouvoir fin 2005 du président Mahinda Rajapakse, un nationaliste partisan de la méthode forte contre ceux qu'il qualifie de "terroristes".

 

 

 

Quatre personnes ont été tuées mercredi à Colombo dans un attentat attribué par l'armée à la rébellion des Tigres, qui a eu lieu près des quartiers généraux des armées de terre et de l'air. Depuis le début de 2006, plus de 5 000 personnes ont péri dans les combats, portant le bilan total de la guerre civile déclenchée en 1983 à environ 70 000 morts. 

Guerre sur le joyaux

Quelques tristes nouvelles du sri lanka, Le Monde, 29 Aout 2006:


Le président sri-lankais, Mahinda Rajapakse, le répète à l'envi : le Sri Lanka n'est pas en guerre, l'armée ne fait que se défendre face "aux offensives du LTTE" (Tigres de libération de l'Eelam tamoul) et le gouvernement est prêt à tout moment à reprendre les négociations de paix.
Sur le terrain, toutefois, la situation est quelque peu différente et toutes les mesures qui prévalaient avant le cessez-le-feu signé avec le LTTE sous l'égide de la Norvège en février 2002 sont de nouveau en vigueur.

Colombo a remis en place de multiples points de contrôle sur les principales artères, de vastes embouteillages se forment périodiquement aux entrées de la capitale en raison de la vérification de tous les véhicules et passagers qui entrent dans la ville, et sur les routes la police et l'armée contrôlent aussi la circulation avec des barrages plus ou moins réguliers.

A la télévision nationale et dans les journaux, l'armée a lancé une vaste campagne publicitaire pour attirer sous les drapeaux les jeunes Sri-Lankais. La télévision diffuse aussi des appels à la population pour l'appeler à signaler aux autorités tout mouvement suspect de personne inconnue et tout renseignement pouvant être "utile" au maintien de la sécurité.

Plus de 1 500 personnes, selon la mission d'observation du cessez-le-feu (SLMM), ont été tuées dans des incidents liés au conflit entre l'armée et le LTTE depuis janvier. Les escarmouches qui opposaient les belligérants sont devenues, depuis fin juillet, des batailles rangées, notamment sur la ligne de front Kilali-Nagarkovil qui sépare l'armée des Tigres dans la péninsule de Jaffna.

QUELQUE 160 SOLDATS TUÉS

Affaibli à l'est de l'île par la défection, en 2004, de son principal commandant, le "colonel" Karuna, le LTTE veut une victoire militaire avant de rouvrir d'éventuelles négociations et Jaffna, au coeur du pays Tamoul, reprise par l'armée en 1995, est sans doute leur réel objectif. Les combats qui se déroulent depuis le 11 août dans la péninsule isolée sont extrêmement violents et meurtriers des deux côtés. Officiellement, l'armée a annoncé jusqu'au 22 août la mort de 159 soldats tandis que 485 autres ont été blessés.

Les chiffres pour les Tigres se monteraient à 487 morts. Les militaires sur place s'inquiètent toutefois du fait que, pour l'instant, la plupart des cadavres de Tigres récupérés sur les lignes sont ceux de jeunes filles ou jeunes femmes, ce qui laisse supposer que la véritable offensive, menée par des cadres aguerris, est encore à venir.

"Depuis environ avril, le LTTE tente de recruter en masse et il y a eu des exécutions de jeunes qui ont refusé", affirme, à Colombo, un travailleur humanitaire qui veut rester anonyme pour sa sécurité. "Toute la population de 15 à 50 ans sous son contrôle a été obligée par le LTTE de suivre un entraînement pseudo-militaire", renchérit un autre représentant d'une organisation non gouvernementale.

L'armée, forte de 50 000 hommes environ dans la péninsule, résiste mais pourrait rencontrer des difficultés si des renforts en hommes et en munitions n'arrivent pas. La base aérienne de Palaly est sous la menace des canons du LTTE et seuls les hélicoptères peuvent l'utiliser. L'artillerie du LTTE basée dans la région de Sampur menace aussi la rade de Trincomale, au Nord-Est, d'où partent les bateaux militaires.

La rupture évidente, même si elle est non déclarée, de la trêve a conduit la SLMM à rappeler dans la capitale la plupart de ses observateurs. Leur nombre sera aussi réduit avec le départ des membres des pays de l'Union européenne. Après la décision de Bruxelles de mettre le LTTE sur la liste des organisations terroristes, celui-ci a en effet exigé leur départ au 1er septembre, réduisant la mission de 57 à 30 membres (norvégiens et islandais).

Le fait qu'aucune des parties ne veuille officiellement annuler le cessez-le-feu pourrait théoriquement permettre une reprise du dialogue. Mais pour l'instant, personne ne semble intéressé à la recherche d'une solution.

Françoise Chipaux
Article paru dans l'édition du Monde du 26.08.06

Hotel à reconstruire

Salut a tous les visiteurs:

Je voudrais profiter de mon site pour vous faire par du malheur d'un ami sri lankais et de sa famille et eventuellement trouver ensemble un moyen de l'aider: Upali Soysa a une femme et trois petits enfants adorables, brilllants à l'école et en anglais, et qui ont même commencé à apprendre le francais avec Bénédicte.
J'ai rencontré cette famille lors de mon premier séjour en avril 2004, puis l'on s'est revu très souvent depuis dans leur joli petit hotel famillial sur la cote ouest, à Akurela. Le tsunami a reduit ce paradis en ruines et leur moyen de subsistance à la charité. Aujourd'ui Upali ne recoit plus d'aide du gouvernement, les 5000 roupies par mois et la nourriture qui leur avait permis de tenir jusqu'alors. Depuis plusieurs mois il bataille avec l'administration pour avoir l'autorisation de reconstruire son hotel et avec les banques pour avoir un pret. Mais sans la paperasse, pas de pret Pourtant il sait qu'il a le droit de reconstruire puisque cela est autorisé pour toutes les activités liées au tourisme (on peut penser ce que l'on veut de cette loi pas bizare...).

Voila plusieurs emails et lettres que je recois de lui pour soliciter un prêt, ce qu'il m'avait deja demandé en Mai lorsque j'etais rester plusieurs jours avec sa famille dans leur nouvelle maison. Il aurrait besoin de 15 000 euros pour tout remettre en état de marche: je ne peu pour le moment réunir cet argent, mais je pense que ce serait un beau projet que de remettre cet hotel en route, le seul proche de la plage dans ce lieu paradisiaque, et qui de plus permattrait la création d'activité et d'emplois dans le village.
Si quelqu'un a une généreuse idée, merci pour eux!

Photo: la guest house de la famille Soysa aprés le tsunami
Damien Hallé

OCHA SitRep 27 Mai- 2 juin

HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN SRI LANKA Situation Report

Reporting Period: 27 May – 2 June 2005


Overall Situation

The number of tsunami-affected IDPs has remained relatively constant over the last few weeks, according to UNICEF. As of 25 May, the number living in camps and hosted with friends and relatives stood at 499,783. The largest numbers of IDPs are recorded in Galle with 120,828 and Ampara with 100,012.

Main challenges and response

On 17 May, a displaced 15 year-old boy from a Thirrukovial IDP camp in Ampara died from burns he sustained when a mosquito net in which he had wrapped himself accidentally caught fire. Such mosquito nets are highly flammable. The tragic incident highlighted the prevalence of potential fire hazards in camps and transitional shelters. In the aftermath of the child’s death, UNICEF, in coordination with other agencies and government officials, is exploring ways to inform and educate regarding potential fire hazards and safety measures that can be taken in the camps. UNICEF’s Early Childhood Programme in Colombo is helping formulate key messages regarding accident prevention and increase awareness and promote safety in camps. In addition, potentially flammable items such as mosquito nets and lanterns will be delivered with fire hazard warnings attached. Coordination and common services Planning and preparations are ongoing for a Lessons Learned Tsunami Workshop to be held on 8 and 9 June with participants from national and local government, NGOs, bilateral donors and International Organisations. The Sri Lankan exercise is a precursor to a regional exercise taking place in Medan, Indonesia on 13 to 14 June.

Health

In Ampara district, psycho-social programmes have been on-going in IOM-supported camps. From 19 to 22 May, four shows were put on by a Sri Lankan traveling puppet workshop and theatre group and from18 to 23 May, six acrobatic workshops and exhibitions were held. Some 1,400 children, adults from the tsunami-affected population and neighboring communities attended the events.

IOM supported and organized a three-day Psychosocial Training-of-Trainers course in Colombo, with a local NGO, Sahanaya, for ten Sewalanka workers and seven workers from the Sri Lankan Bureau of Foreign Affairs. It also funded and organized a two-day psycho-social training course for 35 field workers and community leaders in Ampara. In addition, IOM is developing HIV/AIDS message playing cards that will be available for distribution among tsunami-affected populations and aim to increase community awareness of HIV/AIDS.

Five-thousand mosquito nets were handed over to the Deputy Director of Health Services in Ampara by UNICEF to support the Anti-Malaria Campaign. Another 5,400 nets were provided to the Health Sevice in Jaffna district. An increase in mosquito-borne diseases is likely due to the seasonal North East monsoon rains.

IOM Sri Lanka is implementing an Eye Care Health Pilot Project in collaboration with the Ophthalmologic College of Sri Lanka. The Project seeks to improve the provision of eye health care services including cataract surgery to both tsunami-affected populations and host communities in tsunami-affected areas. Additionally, 90 Ophthalmologic nurses selected from six tsunami-affected districts (Hambantota, Galle, Matara, Ampara, Trincomalee and Batticaloa) attended a one-day training workshop on 29 May at the Colombo Eye Hospital to develop their skills on how to handle, maintain and sterilize surgical equipment and assist cataract surgery. The Eye Health Care Project expects to directly benefit 77,000 beneficiaries of which 7,700 will be children.

Non-food items and shelter

Planning for permanent houses in all 17 relocation sites in the Batticaloa District is underway. According to the Kachcheri, all sites have now been “claimed” by one or another reconstruction agency. However, various steps need to be undertaken prior to the commencement of construction and these could be time-consuming.

As of 16 May 2005, the Damage Assessment Team (DAT) which is composed of division and local level representatives, as well as a technical expert and donor representative) had inspected 11,292 of 13,987 fully or partially damaged houses outside the buffer zone in Batticaloa district. A total of 6,333 assessments have been completed with compensation payments authorized. Some protests against DAT assessment decision have been held in the district in the last few weeks. According to some representatives of agencies involved in the reconstruction efforts, many tsunami-survivors whose homes were damaged or destroyed are not sufficiently informed about the criteria for awarding compensation payments or about the channels for expressing grievance.

In some areas hard-hit by the tsunami, school children have only one set of clothes apart from the school uniforms they have been provided. In response to this problem, UNICEF is distributed clothing to 149 boys and 114 girls in Mullaitivu RCTMS school, to 116 boys and 100 girls in Kallapadu school and to 100 girls and 100 boys at Kallaru School.

Education

Work has commenced by UNICEF on the construction of 195 semi-permanent classrooms in Kalmunai and Akkaraipattu zones. In addition, 99 class rooms are being constructed in all six education zones of Ampara. In Galle education zone, the construction work of two semipermanent school buildings funded by UNICEF is nearing completion.
The New Easter Bus Company began a bus service on June 1 to transport children residing in IDP camps at Mandanai and Sakalakalai Amman Temple to and from school. UNICEF is supporting the bus service through its Education Office in Akkaraiapttu. Approximately 200300 children will benefit initially from this service.

Livelihoods

As of the end of May, 770 families have received IOM livelihood assistance. Of these, 301 families were identified as single-headed households or otherwise extremely vulnerable and were assisted as part of IOM’s Counter Trafficking Programme.

The Chamber of Commerce in Batticaloa district has established a help desk to assist tsunamiaffected people obtain bank loans and other types of assistance. The Chamber of Commerce is also planning to provide grants of Rs 10,000- 25,000 for tsunami-affected people to start up businesses.

Protection

The Sri Lankan Department of Probation, Save the Children, UNICEF and the Mangrove have been collaborating on the provision of care and protection for over 630 children who have lost both parents and 1,416 children who have lost one parent. A model is now being discussed to provide care to these children beyond their legal entitlements. One of the major concerns that have emerged is entitlement to compensation and land rights of those children who have lost both their parents in the tsunami. Moreover, the majority of them are particularly disadvantaged in that they do not have legal representation to claim for their rights.


UNITED NATIONS OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS (OCHA), June 3rd 2005

Dur dur à Payagalla

Par souci de transparence, je souhaite partager avec vous le dernier mail que Bénédicte m'a envoyé concernant la situation sur le terrain. Elle s'y est rendu avec sa mère et des amis sri lankais le vendredi 21 avril, et à constaté que Caritas Allemagne avait déjà commencé à reconstruire de nombreuses maisons. Tant mieux! mais cela changerait pas mal nos plans...

"
J'ai contacté groupe CARITAS (0342236978) lundi matin pour leur expliquer notre projet de
construction à payagala north. la personne qui m'a repondu ne s'est pas
opposée a ce projet bien au contraire. Elle m'a donne les coordonnees du
Reverend responsable du « social devolpment » in Colombo
Diocese . Je l'ai rencontre ce matin a 8h30 au Archbishop's
house de Colombo. Voici en vrac toutes les infos que j'ai pu obtenir :
- Tous les terrains ou sont construits les temporary shelters et les
permanant houses appartiennent a l'Archevêché de Colombo.
- les Temporay shelters+permanent houses sont construits en dehors de la zone
des 100m. caritas souhaite etre en regle avec la loi.
- un temporary shelter = 35 000 roupees
- Selon lui, il y a bcp trop de gens travaillent a Payagala. Il parle de
"big competition" entre les differentes NGO's (World Vision, SL Red Cross,
Caritas Germany + private donors).
- Il n'y a donc plus de terrain pour construire d'autres maisons en dehors
de la zone des 100m.
-Il m'a alors oriente vers Maggona ou 16 familles ont perdu leur maison.
Elles sont actuellement logées chez des proches ou par la paroisse. la
paroisse compte acheter un terrain (d'une valeur de 1,5 million de roupies)
se situant en dehors de la zone des 100m a un propriétaire prive. ou nous
pourrions construire des maisons permanentes (selon lui ce n'est pas
nécessaire de construire des temprary shelters). Il m'a assure que la
paroisse paierai intégralement le prix du terrain. les constructions ne
commenceraient pas avant mi-mai en raison des démarches pour l'acquisition
du terrain (achat, étude et enquête du sol, discussion puis accord de
Caritas Germany...). Il m'a dit de contacter le prêtre de Maggona au plus vite pour ne pas être devance par un
autre groupe.

Autres besoins a Payagala :
- Routes a construire (travail effectue par les habitants)
- playgroung pour les enfants (idem)
- Construction d'un Community Hall pour que les familles puissent se
retrouver dans les village
-digging (puits) realise par des professionnels)
- electricity for houses (idem)

voila pour les dernières infos. j'ai pas eu le temps d'écrire un rapport
comme tu savais si bien le faire.
Béné"

En résumé: pas de problème à priori pour insérer noter projet dans l'activité de ces diverses ONGs, mais le plus inquiétant semble être le prix galopant des matériaux de construction...

SitRep OCHA 01-07 Avril

Overall situation

In its annual Asian Development Outlook report, released 6 April, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said two million more Asians have joined the ranks of the poor following the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster even though the overall impact on the economies of the affected countries looks small. The bank said it could take the affected populations many years to recover from poverty.

Regarding the impact in Sri Lanka, the ADB has trimmed its economic growth forecast for the country from 5.5 per cent in 2004 to 5.2 per cent because of the impact of the tsunami disaster. The report cited devastation to its fishing communities and small-scale traders that has led to significant job losses, boosting the ranks of the poor by 287,000 people and the national poverty level by 1.4 percentage points to 26.6 percent. Buoyed by strong expansion in the construction sector and quick recovery in tourism, the country’s economic growth will likely bounce back to 5.8% in 2006 and 5.9% in 2007, ADB says.

The Desk Officer for Thematic Funding of the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), Montsaarat Pantaleoni Giralt, made a three-day joint mission with an OCHA Geneva Representative for Donor Relations and a World Health Organization (WHO) delegation to inspect ECHO funded projects in Sri Lanka. The visit, which included a twoday trip to Ampara, was to assess the operations of OCHA’s Humanitarian Information Centre (HIC) and WHO operations in Ampara district. Four representatives of the Clinton Foundation are in Sri Lanka this week to assess the water and sanitation situation. The visit is being conducted as part of the newly established partnership to address emergency needs for safe water and sanitation as well as long-term health and development goals for families and communities. The group is meeting with representatives of the Urban Development and Water Supply, UN agencies and NGOs, and are traveling to Ampara, Batticaloa and Matara to view first-hand the water and sanitation emergency response and to meet with local authorities in these districts.

Heavy and unseasonal rains over the past week have flooded tents across Batticaloa district, raising concern about the length of time it will take for people to move into permanent shelters. A women’s group from the Puthukudiyruppu temporary resettlement site has approached aid agencies with the complaint that their tents have been flooded and that they have no place to cook since the rains have started as it is too dangerous to cook inside the tent. This group has requested aid agencies to provide them with covered areas that could serve as communal kitchen. The Shelter Taskforce of UN agencies and NGOs in Batticaloa is looking into the situation.

Challenge and response

IOM is supporting the Matara Government Agent’s (GA) office to establish and maintain a database of tsunami affected populations and to track assistance provided to them. IOM is funding staff, equipment and technical assistance for an "Information Management Cell” (IMC) that is to be a part of the office of the Matara Government Agent. The IMC will enter and validate the registration data received from the GA office, the Census Bureau, the Election Commission and other sources of registration. The objective of the cell is to centralize and speed up the processing of information collection, collation and dissemination at district level. The Swiss Development Corporation has embarked on a “Cash for Host Families Programme” in Dikwella, Matara district where it has registered 90 such families and provided some support given the economic strain of long-term hosting of tsunami affected relatives and friends. The financial plight of such host families is seen as an emerging problem that needs to be more fully addressed.

Health

IOM has recruited four local Community Health Surveillance Officers for deployment in Matara, Ampara, Batticaloa and Trincomalee districts. The officers, whose duties involve both medical, mental health and psycho-social work, were trained by the IOM health team and psychosocial staff and were briefed on the IOM counter-trafficking programme.
In a camp in Cheddipalayam, Battocaloa district, the NGO Amigos International reported that there were no toilets for more than 300 children at the school there. UNICEF is responding to the situation as the lead provider, through the Department of Education, for water and sanitation facilities to schools affected by the Tsunami. IOM organised and funded a three-day psycho-social training workshop in Batticaloa in partnership with SewaLanka as part of IOM’s counter-trafficking project. SewaLanka trainers trained 30 psycho-social field workers in implementing psycho-social activities and in ensuring community participation, ownership and empowerment.

Non-food items and shelter

IOM conducted a survey of the 13 tent camps in Kalutara district to identify upgrades needed before the upcoming monsoon season. Camps were assessed in terms of tent replacement requirements, water drainage and water and sanitation facilities.
Save the Children has commenced work in Trincomalee on 218 temporary shelters. In Jaffna, it is in the process of constructing 170 temporary shelters of which, as of 7 April, 65 are now completed.
UNHCR and UNICEF released on 6 April, a report of a rapid needs assessment survey of IDPs that comprises interviews with over 300 families in Ampara, Galle and Jaffna, 226 of which were IDP families and the remaining 76 were host families. The survey revealed that IDPs have little detailed information about relocation and resettlement plans apart from an elementary understanding of the Coastal Buffer Zone (CBZ). In many instances, families voiced an unwillingness to return to their former residences due to a fear of the sea. When they have indicated a wish to return, it is often contingent on the return of other members of their communities. Overall, IDPs wish to be relocated/resettled in close proximity to their former places of work and to their children’s schools and also wish that basic facilities are in place.
The majority of IDPs indicated that they do not want to stay in camps and, for women and children as well as single fathers, transitional shelter in camps was not viewed as a tenable option. Instead, IDPs preferred staying with host families, which in most cases meant with relatives. It was also clear from the responses of interviewees that IDPs preferred cadjan-style transitional housing over tents, be they in camps or with host families, and they also stressed the need for strengthened water and sanitation facilities
The pace of construction of transitional shelters in Batticaloa district remains slow. Only 50 were completed over the previous week. Just over 9,000 semi-permanent shelters are currently required in total in the District. Of these, some 1,600 have been constructed to date.
The Shelter Task Force concluded this week that the main reasons for the slow progress continues to be the lack of sufficient supply of construction material and skilled labour, the wish of beneficiaries to immediately move from temporary into permanent shelter, as well as the limited capacity of the Urban Development Authority (UDA) and the Survey Department. TAP will closely monitor construction activities, including the varying quality of structures, remind all to adhere to agreed standards, and will provide feedback to relevant organizations.
The UNICEF zone office in the South reports that the identification of land for the transitional shelter of IDP families in Matara is slow. Land has been identified for 300 out of the 1,800 families said to be living “in difficult circumstances”, most of whom are reportedly sheltered in tents.
Community Habitat Financing (CHF) has started another 30 transitional shelters in addition to their already completed 10 units.
Save the Children is providing funding for 100 tables and 400 chairs for camps in Matara.

Education

UNICEF has approved the construction of an additional ten semi-permanent school buildings in Galle, bringing the total number of approved temporary/semi-permanent school shelters in the country to 237. The UNICEF zone office in Batticaloa has reported the completion of 15 temporary school buildings in Paddiruppu Zone. An additional 20 temporary school buildings in Batticaloa Zone are expected to be completed later this week.

Livelihoods

FAO handed over Rs 5.6 million (US$57,000) worth of agricultural tools to the Agriculture Ministery for use by the farming community in tsunami affected areas. The tools, donated by the UK firm of M/S Ralph Martindale & Company, consisted of 12,394 hoes and 2,416 harvesting tools. The amount of tools were more than sufficient to meet the needs of the tsunami-affected farm community, according to the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Tissa Warnasuriya.
Save the Children is in the process of providing a total of 150 sewing machines that are being distributed in Matara district by the Sri Lankan NGO, Women’s Chamber of Commerce, to help restore livelihoods.

Food

Reacting to the recently published nutrition survey that had been carried out by the Ministry of Health, WFP and UNICEF, the Health Task Force in Batticaloa came to the conclusion that the findings did not seem to vary substantially from the pre-tsunami situation. However, the group acknowledged that the nutritional situation in the camps was less satisfactory, mainly as a result of irregular access to food, lower hygiene standards, as well as issues of food preparation and storage.

Protection

An IOM expert on IDP issues presented a report to the Sri Lankan Parliamentary Select Committee on Disaster s last week. It assessed the response to IDP’s basic physical needs and protection rights to date. Recommendations were submitted for consideration in future disaster preparedness and mitigation planning. The report highlighted the expectations and requirements of international norms and legal standards as set out in the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, the SPHERE Standards in Disaster Relief and the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief.
To date, a total of 144 family kits have been delivered in Galle district by Child Rights Promotion Officers (CRPOs) and Probation Officers (POs) with the support of UNICEF to children who have lost their parents and have been placed with family members through a fit person order. A further 100 kits are to be delivered over the next two days. Through this exercise, UNICEF has been able to verify names of children, addresses and caregivers.

Transport

IOM donated 40 newly procured mopeds to the Commissioner General for Essential Services and Head of the Task Force for Relief (TAFOR), Tilak Ranaviraja, to be used for staff transport in the Transitional Accomodation Project (TAP) sub-offices in ten districts.
During the past week 61 IOM lorries were dispatched to affected areas on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, IOs, NGOs and other donors. It included 29 lorry transports of medical equipment and relief items throughout the country for the Ministry of Health,13 for the Prime Minister’s Office, five each for OXFAM, CARE and UNHCR and two for the Department for Social Services. IOM used sixteen lorries to transport various building materials to different IOM construction sites throughout the country.

SitRep OCHA 01-03 Mars 2205

Overall Situation :

The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on the Human Rights of IDPs, Walter Kalin, visited Colombo on 28 February to 1 March, on an unofficial mission at the invitation of the National Protection and Durable Solutions for IDPs Project of the Human Rights Commission (HRC). In addition to giving a formal presentation on international IDP concerns at a forum in Columbo, he held informal meetings with government authorities, UN agencies and NGO representatives.

According to WFP Security Office, a large number of civilian, including women, children, and students, held a calm demonstration in Jaffna that proceeded to Divisional Secretariat on 2 March. It was to protest both the recent killing of LTTE political cadres, and alleged discrimination in the provision of relief to Tsunami victims. The demonstrators delivered a letter to the UNHCR Office to be forwarded to the UN Secretary General, and also ones to the ICRC and SLMM.


Main challenges and response

According to UNICEF, the price of items on the local market has increased considerably. Computers and generators, for example, are as much as double the price of equivalent goods from abroad even with the inclusion of freight charges. Domestic prices are increasing as a result of sizable purchases in response to the humanitarian emergency. There are also reportedly shortage of building materials.
UNESCO, responding to a request by the Cultural Affair and National Heritage Ministry, has a team this week inspecting tsunami damage to World Heritage sites in Sri Lanka, especially in Jaffna and Galle Forts. UNICEF is facilitating a workshop on 4 March to develop guidelines, within existing government frameworks, for child sponsorship schemes. The workshop comes in the context of growing concern about apparent inequitable child sponsorship schemes being developed by some NGOs and agencies.
UNICEF reports that progress in the construction of transit camps is slow, most notably in the districts of the North East. As a result, many IDPs have been pitching tents on their own in areas with limited access to basic services. Reportedly, this is occurring in Jaffna, Batticaloa and Trincomalee. Furthermore, in Muthur division, Trincomalee, finding available land is difficult. In Echilampattai, where ample land exists, it is reported that roads are not suitable for the convenient delivery of relief items.
A portion of UNICEF relief items was finally cleared by customs at the end of last week. Four gully emptiers, 1,500 tents, ten Landcruisers, five Maruti vans, one ambulance, and 124 motorbikes are among the items that have been released.
The Government Agent’s (GA) Office in Batticaloa agreed this week to requests by the Task Forces to establish a Working Group for the publication of the next GA’s Information Bulletin. This will hopefully make a significant contribution in providing tsunami-affected populations in the area additional information regarding relief and recovery activities that impact them.


Coordination and common services

Concern has been raised about condition in some camps: for example, in Kallaru minimum standards of safety, security and basic needs are reportedly not being met, including inadequately constructed toilet facilities. UNHCR, along with other agencies, has offered to help rectify the situation. According to the agencies, the Kallaru camp situation highlights the need for increased monitoring to ensure quality control in project implementation.

Food security

The WFP reports that the Government is still in the process of registering tsunami affected people and has continued issuing additional cash/food coupons to the affected population. The total is now approximately 950,000. WFP has initiated discussions with the Government out of a concern that not all registered people are in need of food aid.


Health

The Danish Red Cross has sent a specialist to Ampara to run a psycho-social counselling program in close cooperation with the regional health authorities and with volunteers from the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society. The program, the second in a series, aims at assisting people in the welfare centres and transit camps to come to terms with the loss of loved ones, and focuses particularly on psycho-social support for traumatised children. In the last two weeks, the ICRC has started distributing mail kits, consisting of stamps, envelopes, paper and pens to tsunami-affected families in key areas of the country, allowing them to stay in touch with relatives and at the same time provide them some psycho-social relief by expressing their concern and emotions regarding the disaster.
Some 59,000 mosquito nets were dispatched by UNICEF to the districts over the past two weeks – 20,0000 to Ampara, 12,000 to Batticaloa, 3,000 to Galle, 2,000 to Hambantota, 12,000 to Jaffna, 3,000 to Kalutara, and 2,000 to Matara. The Ministry of Health publicly presented the survey findings of the nutrition survey undertaken jointly by Medical Research Institute/WFP/UNICEF at a meeting on 28 February. Some preliminary findings from the survey indicate:
* 20 per cent of tsunami-affected children are stunted (height for age) compared to the national figure of 14 per cent;
* 16 per cent of children suffer from acute malnutrition (wasting) compared to a national figure of 14 per cent;
* The prevalence of acute malnutrition in the East (19.8 per cent) and West (18.1 per cent) were higher compared to the North (12.7 per cent) and South (12.8 per cent).;
* More than two-thirds of under-five-year-olds were found to suffer from acute respiratory infections and nearly one in five children had diarrhoel diseases;
* Although the general food distribution for adults is adequate, children do not get appropriate supplementary food;
* Triposha – a blended food rich in micronutrients is only available to 14 per cent of underfive-year-old children.
* Although vitamin A capsules are readily available in the country, only 23 per cent of children received vitamin A supplements.


Water and sanitation

UNICEF has released a survey on the water and sanitation situation in IDP transit camps of tsunami-affected districts. Overall, the survey describes a relatively satisfactory situation. Nevertheless, the water supply and sanitation facilities are below national norms in some of the camps. According to this survey, the average size of camps is about 87 families. Batticaloa and Mullativu have some of the largest camps with single sites in the districts housing as many as 146 and 140 families, respectively.
In total, there are 45 different agencies working in the water and sanitation sector. Coordination between stakeholders at the district level is reportedly good. Additional coordination efforts are required for the establishment of adequate hand washing and waste disposal facilities and for hygiene promotion.


Non-food items and shelter

In Vaddamarachchi East, an LTTE controlled part of Jaffna, 16 transition centers are being constructed. An additional 19 are nearly finished in the Mullaitivu district. Some agencies are experiencing delays in finalising water and sanitation facilities and shelter construction. Various agencies have highlighted the urgency in completing this construction so people can move out of welfare centers, many of which are schools, so normal classes can resume again. IOM agreed to support the TAFOR (Task Force for Relief) Transitional Accommodation Project (TAP) in setting up five regional offices to coordinate shelter activities. IOM is providing office equipment, computers and transport to the TAP office in Matara where IOM is the lead agency on shelter activities.
IOM’s contracted shelter engineer is finalising three different shelter designs. Model construction commence in Kalutara district in early March. Of the estimated 73,000 people in the Northern region that are living in camps or with friends and relatives, approximately 90 per cent of the Tsunami displaced had previously been displaced due to the conflict. The large majority of these people were displaced more than once, leaving them in a particular vulnerable position with hardly anything left.
All Government Agents in the Southern Province are moving quickly to establish transitional shelter for displaced persons given the approach of monsoon season.


Education

In Batticaloa, a two-week, rapid assessment of obstacles faced by IDP families in getting children back to school is being conducted in all camps by five master counselors trained by GTZ, two graduate trainees, one child psychiatrist from MSF and a UNICEF staff member.
In Trincomalee, 23,000 back-to-school leaflets have been printed -- 20,000 in Tamil and 3,000 in Sinhala – and target both students and their parents. The leaflets are being used as part of community-level mobilization activities carried out by the Education Department and other organizations participating in the campaign.
In Batticaloa, a start has been made in the process of vacating tsunami-affected families from schools and into transition camps. Through an exemplary consultative and participatory process by various agencies and the community, one school has already been successfully vacated. Prince Charles, on his 28 February stop in Batticaloa, visited the transition shelter site for these transferred families. An effort is now underway to replicate this successful transfer.
UNICEF has orders an additional 3,000 desks, 7,000 chairs and 175,000 meters of white school uniform fabric to be delivered in coming weeks The white fabric, together with blue fabric -- already in stock -- will be used to stitch approximately 100,000 school uniforms for children. UNICEF previously provided uniform material for some 107,000 school children.

Livelihoods

IOM has officially started its livelihood programme for tsunami affected people. In collaboration with the Southern Development Authority and the Industrial Development Board, IOM gave 16 carpenters in Matara district replacement toolkits enabling them to get back to work in community reconstruction projects. IOM also organized two workshops for the Presidents and Secretaries of six Camp Care Committees in shelter sites constructed by IOM in Matara district. The workshops trained participants in the preparation of project proposals for livelihood projects that could employ camp residents.
With regard to livelihoods in the fisheries sector: in Batticaloa, Cordaid is providing some 2,200 small boats between now and May to fishermen in the area who lost such craft. These donations should adequately meet all demand in the area for such fishing vessels.


Protection

The Protection/Psycho-social Task Force in Batticaloa is now offering training for police and military personnel working in camps. There has been some concern from IDPs and aid workers regarding an increased military presence in the camps, particularly at the entrances of camps.
An IOM public information campaign warning of the dangers of human trafficking of persons displaced by the tsunami is on-going in IDP camps throughout Sri Lanka. Educational posters and leaflets -- 2,000 in Sinhala and 3,000 in Tamil -- are being distributed
Mine clearance of all transition camp sites, plus a surrounding 100 meter buffer zone, has been completed in both Mullaitivu and Vaddamarachchi. It should be noted that the Humanitarian Demining Unit (HDU) Norwegian Peoples Aid (NPA) and the Danish Demining Group (DDG) had completed the clearance of most of the Tsunami affected sites in October last year, which make remarking unnecessary. A few unexploded ordnance (UXO) was found in the wider vicinity of the camps areas. Mine Risk Education programmes are still required and ongoing.