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ACT AlertSri Lanka - 1/2007ConflictGeneva,
23 February 2007
Roadside blasts,
suicide bombings, land and sea battles have killed thousands - Tamils,
Muslims and Sinhalese – in the north and east as well as combatants
and military personnel since Sri Lanka's 2002 cease-fire between the
army and the Tamil Tigers. The new chapter of the two-decade conflict
bodes ill as calls from the international community to cease fighting
are ignored. In 2006 the death toll as a result of conflict was over
3,000 people. It is feared that the bloodshed will only get worse.
The limited food
supply in the conflict affected areas has caused many problems for
the internally displaced, as well as for the rest of the communities
living in those areas. Medicines are also scarce and the prices of
the few available items have escalated beyond the reach of most people.
Abductions are reported daily
More than 200,000
are internally displaced. With no regular supply routes by land –
prices of essential items in Jaffna have gone sky-high. The soaring
prices coupled with no proper means of livelihood makes the life of
some 500,000 people in Jaffna Peninsular a veritable nightmare. Fishermen
are banned, without warning, from going out to sea. The ban can remain
in force for weeks, lifted for a short period and then re-imposed.
The 80,000 or
more IDPs in the Eastern Province also suffer in the same manner.
The land routes are open and food trickles in. However, there is a
massive shortage of food as all the crops have been destroyed and
many people have lost their means of livelihood. There is a dire lack
of clean water and sanitation facilities. Medical assistance is urgently
needed.
Many of the IDPs
in the north and east have been impacted by one calamity after another
– war, floods, tsunami and again war – without having the chance to
fully recover.
ACT member the
National Christian Council of Sri Lanka (NCCSL), its constituent
members and partners, have been carrying out emergency relief distributions
to assist the most vulnerable communities using its own resources
or borrowed funds. The ACT CO is
expecting to receive and issue a proposal from NCCSL within the next
week. It is planned to provide emergency relief for a period of three
months to assist Tsunami/conflict affected people and communities
in the north and east of the country who have had to flee the fighting
and are homeless. They are currently living with host families or
in camps and welfare centres set up by the churches or Divisional
Secretaries of the region. The programme plans for food and non-food
items, water and sanitation, medicines and some livelihood support
to a value of just under US$ 600,000. ACT CO would be
grateful for indications of possible funding from donors. Any funding
indication or pledge should be communicated to Jessie Kgoroeadira,
ACT Finance Officer (jkg@act-intl.org).
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