Parts of Batticaloa are worse than Vanni in ‘normalcy’

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 May 2012, 16:30 GMT]
While the West and India have stopped talking about the East, and try to project an image that ‘normalcy’ has returned to the East and the North also should follow suit in the same directions, large parts of Batticaloa are silently kept under conditions worse than that of Vanni for the last five years, news sources in the East said. Similar to the times of the war in Vanni, more than 250,000 people were systematically displaced by the occupying SL military in 2007, in Batticaloa’s Paduvaan-karai part alone, under the pretext of ‘liberating’ them from the LTTE. Even though it is said that they are ‘rehabilitated phase by phase’, they are deliberately kept without basic facilities for nearly five years now, while the only ‘development’ seen there is the escalation of militarisation and harassment by the occupying Sinhala military.

SL military’s invasion and artillery shells displaced the entire population of Paduvaan-karai part of Batticaloa district in 2007. The region includes administrative divisions such as Vellaave’li, Vavu’natheevu, Paddippazhai, Koa’ra’laip-pattu South, Ea’raavoorp-pattu and Chengkalladi

New military camps and check posts mushroom in the resettled parts of the region in recent times, harassing the Tamil civilians.

On Monday two new SL military check posts have appeared at Alli-oadai junction and at Maavaddavaan junction, in the Koa’ra’laippattu South division of Batticaloa district. The new check posts scrutinising all travellers and vehicles are located between Pulipaayntha-kal and Kudumpi-malai.

The civilians are terrorised and face a lot of inconveniences by the new activities of the SL military.

An SL military camp was established in this locality in 2007 at a place called the 9th milepost. But it was not engaged in any checking operations. But 5 years after the military invasion new checking operations have started recently.

Meanwhile basic facilities and infrastructure facilities like roads were not provided to the resettled people, especially in Miyang-ku’lam, Churava’nach-choalai, Aaththik-kaaddu-veddai, Kudumpi-malai, Alli-oadai, 6th Milepost, Tharavai, Pa’l’lach-cheanai, Kakka’laach-choalai, Thadaa’nai, Koozhaavadi, Peru’laave’li, Chi’ru-thean-kal, 1st Milepost and Pulipaayntha-kal villages of Koa’ra’laippattu South division.

On 19th last month, a man, father of a child died by lightening. He was struck by lightening around 4 pm but was able to be taken to the nearest hospital only by night 8 pm.

There are not even first aid facilities and the nearest hospital is 100 km away.

Not even 10 students attend the school, Kumaran Vithiyaalayam at Kudumpi-malai village, because teachers are unable to come due to lack of transportation facilities.

NGOs are prevented from operating in this region because the SL Defence Ministry doesn’t give them permission.

Politicians and bureaucrats don’t visit this part of the district.

The Chief Minister of the East visited the area a couple of times, but he spent the time in drinking and eating hunted deer with the Sinhalese engaged in tank renovation in the area, local people complained.

One could obviously see that the so-called foreign aid given by IMF, World Bank, ADB, USA, UK, EU, Japan and India never reached this part of the East.

During the times of the LTTE, even though the SL military harassment was there, at least the politicians and government servants carried out their duties with discipline and care. Even that is missing now, the local people said.