Sri Lanka wants more time to resettle IDPs
Sri Lanka has said that it wants more time to settle the internally displaced persons (IDPs) due to infrastructural constraints and the danger of landmines at their original habitats. “Don’t ask for a time frame. It will happen quickly. We have settled a large number of people in record time with about 1,000 leaving the makeshift camps on a daily basis. But we have to give people infrastructure and demine the areas. We can’t let people be blown up,” diplomatic sources said. Sri Lankans of Tamil origin who went to Tamil Nadu can come back, but would have to do so voluntarily. Colombo’s first priority was to resettle the IDPs uprooted during the war between the armed forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), they said. www.hindu.com/2010/03/23/stories/2010032363281200.htm