Rehabilitation efforts in tsunami-struck Muttur East are stagnating amid an unofficial embargo imposed on the region by the Sri Lankan military in Trincomalee.
Efforts to revive the local economy are also foundering as transport of goods and people in and out of the Tamil-Tiger controlled enclave is disrupted.
Muttur East is a part of the Sri Lanka military-dominated Trincomalee district which is held by the Tamil Tigers. Residents, aid workers and government officials must pass through the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) checkpoint at Kaddaiparichchan to enter it.
Despite permits for aid organizations to transport building materials into the impoverished region supplied by the Government Agent (the most senior civil servant in the district), the SLA has prevented the entry of gravel and other such needed supplies, Tamil politicians protested to the government this week.
“I appeal to you to intervene and take appropriate steps to alleviate the sufferings of the civilians in the LTTE held areas in running their day to day lives and their agricultural and development activities without interruption,” the letter from TNA parliamentarian for Trincomalee, Mr. K Thurairatnasingham, said.
The letter cites instances in which approved projects for rehabilitation and reconstruction have stalled due to the SLA’s refusal to allow needed materials to enter.
The coastal geography means many residents in Muttur East are dependent on the ocean for their livelihood. The devastation caused by tsunami of December 2004 has since been compounded by Sri Lankan government and military regulation.
Fishing times, for example, have been arbitrarily curtailed as a result of new measures imposed in the High Security Zone fishermen must pass through. Many of these restrictions are prohibited by the February 2002 ceasefire agreement.
Agricultural work has also been halted: an acute fuel shortage means tractors and other farm machinery, much of donated by international NGOs cannot be used.
Residents are also decrying heightened restrictions on the transportation of goods such as eggs, meat and other foodstuffs into the region.
They are concerned at more invasive searches at the SLA checkpoint and the sheer arbitrariness of the restrictions. One youth was arrested for having three CDs with music supportive to the Tigers in his possession, for example.
Mr. S. Elilan, the LTTE’s Trincomalee district head, has brought these restrictions to the attention of the North East Provincial Council (NEPC) and appealed to the Sri Lankan government to ensure development in the region is allowed to progress without restriction.
Mr. Elilan asked the NEPC to give voice in Colombo to the difficulties of people in Muttur East in rebuilding their lives and communities.
The harassment of civilians at the SLA checkpoint is not limited to non-Sinhalese. Even Sri Lankan officials from the Education International (EI) enroute to a meeting in Muttur East were detained for hours at the checkpoint, and subject to interrogation.
They were then told that Sinhalese people will not be allowed entry into Muttur East without prior permission from senior Defense officials.
The EI workers had intended to begin work on two schools in Tamil villages which were destroyed by last December’s tsunami. After bringing the issue to the attention of the international ceasefire monitors, they were allowed entry by the soldiers.
This is only one of numerous incidents cited to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) by residents of Muttur East.
The checkpoint at Kaddaiparichchan was once left open on a 24 hour basis, in the interests of promoting development throughout the war and tsunami-devastated region. However, these hours have been sharply cutback. Troops now refuse civilian entry after 7 pm and before 6 am.
These recent incidents are reminiscent of the decade-long embargo imposed on the LTTE-held areas in which food, medicine and almost all other supplies were refused entry, often despite permission being obtained by NGOs from the defence ministry in Colombo.
Compiled from TamilNet reports
Efforts to revive the local economy are also foundering as transport of goods and people in and out of the Tamil-Tiger controlled enclave is disrupted.
Muttur East is a part of the Sri Lanka military-dominated Trincomalee district which is held by the Tamil Tigers. Residents, aid workers and government officials must pass through the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) checkpoint at Kaddaiparichchan to enter it.
Despite permits for aid organizations to transport building materials into the impoverished region supplied by the Government Agent (the most senior civil servant in the district), the SLA has prevented the entry of gravel and other such needed supplies, Tamil politicians protested to the government this week.
“I appeal to you to intervene and take appropriate steps to alleviate the sufferings of the civilians in the LTTE held areas in running their day to day lives and their agricultural and development activities without interruption,” the letter from TNA parliamentarian for Trincomalee, Mr. K Thurairatnasingham, said.
The letter cites instances in which approved projects for rehabilitation and reconstruction have stalled due to the SLA’s refusal to allow needed materials to enter.
The coastal geography means many residents in Muttur East are dependent on the ocean for their livelihood. The devastation caused by tsunami of December 2004 has since been compounded by Sri Lankan government and military regulation.
Fishing times, for example, have been arbitrarily curtailed as a result of new measures imposed in the High Security Zone fishermen must pass through. Many of these restrictions are prohibited by the February 2002 ceasefire agreement.
Agricultural work has also been halted: an acute fuel shortage means tractors and other farm machinery, much of donated by international NGOs cannot be used.
Residents are also decrying heightened restrictions on the transportation of goods such as eggs, meat and other foodstuffs into the region.
They are concerned at more invasive searches at the SLA checkpoint and the sheer arbitrariness of the restrictions. One youth was arrested for having three CDs with music supportive to the Tigers in his possession, for example.
Mr. S. Elilan, the LTTE’s Trincomalee district head, has brought these restrictions to the attention of the North East Provincial Council (NEPC) and appealed to the Sri Lankan government to ensure development in the region is allowed to progress without restriction.
Mr. Elilan asked the NEPC to give voice in Colombo to the difficulties of people in Muttur East in rebuilding their lives and communities.
The harassment of civilians at the SLA checkpoint is not limited to non-Sinhalese. Even Sri Lankan officials from the Education International (EI) enroute to a meeting in Muttur East were detained for hours at the checkpoint, and subject to interrogation.
They were then told that Sinhalese people will not be allowed entry into Muttur East without prior permission from senior Defense officials.
The EI workers had intended to begin work on two schools in Tamil villages which were destroyed by last December’s tsunami. After bringing the issue to the attention of the international ceasefire monitors, they were allowed entry by the soldiers.
This is only one of numerous incidents cited to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) by residents of Muttur East.
The checkpoint at Kaddaiparichchan was once left open on a 24 hour basis, in the interests of promoting development throughout the war and tsunami-devastated region. However, these hours have been sharply cutback. Troops now refuse civilian entry after 7 pm and before 6 am.
These recent incidents are reminiscent of the decade-long embargo imposed on the LTTE-held areas in which food, medicine and almost all other supplies were refused entry, often despite permission being obtained by NGOs from the defence ministry in Colombo.
Compiled from TamilNet reports
