The human tragedy in the north and east is the distressing issue. It must be addressed to by all concerned without any further delay. Enough has been said about humanitarian problems faced by the Tamil people in the peninsula in the north and in Vaharai in the east.

Their life in these areas is rightly described as life in an open prison.

On the one hand, they face starvation, scarcity of essential commodities and high price of essential items. They cannot afford financially to purchase the essential commodities with their limited income. Unemployment stares at them. The ban on fishing is another problem that they face.

Another serious problem is the spread of a viral fever in the peninsula. A large number of people suffer from Asthma, Blood Pressure and Diabetes. These patients are unable to procure the required medicines. There is a scarcity for medicines. Prices of the medicines are rather high.

In addition, the A9 highway in the north and the A15 highway in the east are closed denying land route transport to these areas. There are conditions laid down for the re-opening of these land routes. It is unfortunate that transport to these areas is subjected to such conditions.

All these account for the disappointment and frustration felt among the Tamil people in the North-East. They feel that the Tamils are not treated as citizens of this country. The violations of CFA are of a grave concern to the people. The CFA was signed between the government and the LTTE to bring back normalcy, to create a mutual understanding, to provide basic facilities to the people and finally through these measures to find a solution to these ethnic problem. The government must be cautious about forces that want to lead the country to war.

We appeal that the government should realize the reality and take necessary steps to save the people from suffering and ailments.

An English translation of the Editorial in Virakesari, a Tamil daily, based in Colombo

Comments (1)

Subscribe to this comment's feed