Presence of military is root cause of all the other problems – Wigneswaran

The visiting UN Special Rapporteur on Internally Displaced Persons visited Jaffna on Tuesday.During his visit,  he met

several officials in Jaffna. The UN Special Rapporteur Dr. Chaloka Bayeni met the Governor of the Northern Province, Major General G.A. Chandrasiri.

The UN official also met with the District Secretary of Jaffna prior to visiting Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran at his official residence. The Chief Minister and Dr. Bayeni discussed several issues in the Northern Province.

Chief Minister of Northern Province, C.V.  Wigneswaran shared these views;

“The primary problem that we are facing is the presence of the military in the Northern Province. I pointed out to him that this is the root cause of all the other problems. I asked that he explain this situation to the relevant authorities. People who think that the military must be here must clarify for how long the military should be here. When looking at the current situation, it appears to us that they will remain here for a 100 years. Although we cannot stop this, the international community must act. We believe that he will explain this to the UN. We hope that they will put pressure on the government and that we will benefit from this.”

The UN Special Rapporteur on IDPs also visited the Malgham Gonapulam Welfare Camp where persons displaced from the Walikamam North area are being sheltered. The IDPs raised their concerns with the visiting UN Representative.

UN Special Rapporteur on IDP’s, Dr. Chaloka Bayeni expressed these views;

“I have met different government officials in Colombo and here. And when I go back they asked me to come and tell them what I have found out from here. I can understand from the majority of you that what you would like to do is to return to your original homes. I will relay this message and see how we can work and find solutions for you.”