The Editorial in Sudar Oli (A Tamil Daily) of April 4, 2006, highlights the misery and pathetic life of the internally displaced refugee farmers and fisher-folks in the Tamil areas of Valigamam North. Suggestion of compromise disregarding the report of the Government Agent of Jaffna validating their submissions to the Supreme Court hearing their plea on the Fundamental Rights Application of these displaced Tamils, is indeed a revelation, says the Tamil Daily.

Fertile lands of Tamil people have been acquired by the Sri Lanka Security Forces under the pretext of High Security Zone depriving the people in the North of their lands and livelihood. The report submitted by the Jaffna Government Agent to the Supreme Court states that 36 Grama Sevaka divisions of Valigamam are included in the lands acquired by the forces leading to displacement of 65,756 persons comprising 15,482 families. There is also a sea front in the Valigamam North with ample marine resources providing a livelihood for the fisher folk of the area.

Sixty percent of the people of this area are farmers who depend on their agricultural fields for their livelihood while thirty percent are fishermen depending on sea for the upkeep of their families. These displaced, people have been leading a miserable life as refugees in camps depending on dry rations that are hardly sufficient to meet their requirements.

It is appropriate to quote from the Jaffna Government Agent’s Report “There are several historic places of Hindu Religious worship in this area. It is along the beaches of the coastal line of Valigamam North, brought under the High Security Zone that the Hindus perform the last rites of their dead, for ages. Any effort to resettle the people of the area on different soil making their displacement permanent can cause severe complications."

This report is sequel to a direction by the Supreme Court hearing the Fundamental Rights applications of the displaced people. Supreme Court has made some recommendations to the applicants to consider whether they could settle in groups in areas where the threat to security is not very acute, but after offering an assurance that there would not be any security risk from them.

This recommendation is not final and conclusive. This is an endeavour by the Supreme Court to ensure a compromise and it is not our intention to cast any aspersion on the Supreme Court.

Is it not a mockery that the government, through the State Security Forces should expect guarantees from its citizens!

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