Opposition Leader and Leader of the Tamil National Alliance R Sampanthan in Parliament on Friday (June 10) said the Government never discuss with the the representatives of the People of the North and East with regard to the financial assistance received from foreign countries to develop the war affected areas of the North and eastern provinces. He also urged that all lands held by the military in the North and East should be immediately returned to their legitimate owners. He said that he had met with the President and Prime Minister to discuss this matter, who showed that they were agreeable to release the lands. “Seven years have elapsed since the end of the armed conflict in the country. Many Tamil people in the North and East, who were displaced during the war, were yet to be resettled in their original lands. They have been prevented from coming back to their original lands as those were either occupied by the military or not released by the military,” he said. “The President is to visit Jaffna shortly and he would have meetings with both civilians and Military officials with regard to the release of lands in Jaffna,” he added. “A structured programme is necessary to enable the displaced people to meaningfully rebuild and recommence their lives. Immediate action should be taken to reverse, rectify and redress several actions that have adverse political economic, social and cultural consequences to the Tamil people and thereby impedes genuine and meaningful reconciliation and evolution of permanent peace in the country on the basis of justice and equality,” he noted. “We are at an important juncture today. Reconciliation among communities is the prime need of the country. A change in Government occurred in January 2015 and it had been strengthened by forming a national government. Structurally, this was the first major step towards reconciliation. However, the people are discontented as reconciliation in the proper sense was not visible yet. This was not to say the Government has done nothing, but much more could have been done in the time that had elapsed to bring about a favourable change,” he commented.
