The Island
Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella yesterday said that government would allow only NGOs who want to execute meaningful and constructive work in the North, to do so and not those who want to be mere observers.
He said that observers of international standing of the calibre of the Japanese Peace Envoy Yashushi Akashi had visited those areas and there was no need for NGOs to visit. “The government wants to make the lives of the people more comfortable and it has a duty by them to improve their livelihoods,” Rambukwella said.
The responsibility of the 35,300 people in the IDP centres is in the hands of the government and they will be re-settled as early as possible once the de-mining process is completed in those areas, he said.
A number of countries have expressed satisfaction with the manner in which the situation is handled by the government and neighbouring India was one of them, he said.
Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh held fruitful talks with President Mahinda Rajapaksa and within 10 minutes after beginning the talks granted US$ 250,000 for construction of houses for the displaced, Ramukwella said.
“It’s a vast change from the days of the ‘parippu’ drop during the Vadamarachchi operation,” he said.